William Henry Hunt (November 5, 1857 – February 4, 1949) was the governor of Puerto Rico, a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the United States District Court for the District of Montana, Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs Appeals and a United States Circuit Judge of the

United States Customs Court The United States Court of International Trade (case citations: Int'l Trade or Intl. Trade) is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. Seated in New York City, it exercises ...

, the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Ninth Circuit.

Education and career

Born on November 5, 1857, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, Hunt read law in 1880. He entered private practice in Fort Benton,

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

from 1880 to 1887. He was Collector of Customs for the Montana Territory and Idaho Territory from 1881 to 1885. He was a delegate to the Montana Constitutional Convention in 1884. He was Attorney General of the Montana Territory from 1885 to 1887. He was a member of the Montana House of Representatives in 1889. He was a Judge of the Montana District Court for the First Judicial District from 1889 to 1894. He was a justice of the

Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews ...

from 1894 to 1900. He was the Secretary of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

from 1900 to 1901. He was Governor of Puerto Rico from 1901 to 1904.

Notable orders as Governor

During his governorship, Hunt signed numerous Executive Orders, including those that made

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

and

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

legal holidays in Puerto Rico.''Second Annual Report of the Governor or Porto Rico. (1902–1903)''
William H. Hunt. August 1, 1903. Page 60. Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

Federal judicial service

Hunt was nominated by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

on April 14, 1904, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Montana vacated by Judge Hiram Knowles. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on April 19, 1904, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 30, 1910, due to his elevation to the United States Court of Customs Appeals. Hunt was nominated by President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

on March 9, 1910, to the United States Court of Customs Appeals (later the

United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals The United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA) was a United States federal court which existed from 1909 to 1982 and had jurisdiction over certain types of civil disputes. History The CCPA began as the United States Court of Customs ...

), to a new Associate Judge seat authorized by 36 Stat. 11. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 30, 1910, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on January 31, 1911, due to his elevation to the Commerce Court and Ninth Circuit. Hunt was nominated by President Taft on December 12, 1910, to the

United States Commerce Court The Commerce Court of the United States was a short-lived federal trial court. It was created by the Mann-Elkins Act in 1910 and abolished three years later.Urgent Deficiency Act, 63rd Congress, 1st session, ch. 32, , October 22, 1913. Effective ...

, the

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Ninth Circuit, to a new joint seat authorized by 36 Stat. 539. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 31, 1911, and received his commission on February 8, 1911. On December 31, 1911, the Circuit Courts were abolished and he thereafter served on the Commerce Court and Court of Appeals. On December 13, 1913, the Commerce Court was abolished and he thereafter served only on the Court of Appeals. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on January 31, 1928. His service terminated on November 30, 1928, due to his retirement.

Later career and death

Following his retirement from the federal bench, Hunt resumed private practice in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1928 to 1942. He died on February 4, 1949, in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

References

Sources

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, William Henry 1857 births 1949 deaths California Republicans Judges of the United States Commerce Court Judges of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Montana Members of the Montana House of Representatives Montana Republicans Justices of the Montana Supreme Court Politicians from New Orleans Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians United States court of appeals judges appointed by William Howard Taft United States district court judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt 20th-century American judges United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Fort Benton, Montana