Thomas Morgan Herbert (December 1, 1927 – February 23, 2014) was a Republican lawyer from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

who was elected twice to the Ohio Supreme Court, succeeding his father in the seat.

Background

Thomas Herbert was born at

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

on December 1, 1927, to Paul Morgan & Ruby Thomas Herbert. His father had been a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, and was in the Ohio Senate. He would later be Ohio Lieutenant Governor, and sit on the Ohio Supreme Court. Thomas Herbert graduated with a bachelor's degree from The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1950. He entered the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

in 1951, earned his wings in 1952, and flew 260 hours of combat in

B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fly ...

s as a navigator during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, earning an

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with cluster. Herbert completed his military service in 1955, and entered the Ohio State University College of Law, earning a Bachelor of Laws and Juris doctor. He joined his father's law practice in 1957.

Career

In 1960, Herbert was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he was re-elected in 1962 and 1964. In 1966 he won election to the 10th District Court of Appeals of Ohio. His father announced he would retire from the Ohio Supreme Court, and not seek re-election in 1968. Thomas Herbert ran for the seat that year, and defeated Merrill D. Brothers. He won re-election in 1974. In 1978, Herbert ran for Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, but lost to Democrat

Frank Celebrezze Frank D. Celebrezze Jr. (November 13, 1928 – March 21, 2010) was an American politician and jurist of the Ohio Democratic party, having served as Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. He was elected as a judge of the Ohio Supreme Court in ...

. In 1979, Herbert announced he would not seek re-election in 1980, and he resigned his seat July 31, 1980.

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Jim Rhodes appointed David Dudley Dowd, Jr. to the unexpired months of Herbert's term. Herbert then joined the Columbus firm ''Porter, Wright, Morris, and Arthur''. He was a judge of the Southern Bankruptcy Court from 1982 to 1984. He was married to Patricia Mae Harris in 1956 and they had two children. Herbert died February 23, 2014, at Columbus. He was preceded in death by his wife and survived by his children and four grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Thomas M. 1927 births 2014 deaths Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court Lawyers from Columbus, Ohio Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Judges of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals Recipients of the Air Medal Judges of the United States bankruptcy courts 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers