William Mershon Lanning (January 1, 1849 – February 16, 1912) was an American lawyer, jurist, and

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politician who represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1903 to 1904. He later served as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...

and as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States Circuit Courts for the Third Circuit.

Education and career

Born in Ewingville, Ewing Township, Mercer County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, Lanning graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1866. He was employed as a teacher in the public schools of Mercer County and in the Trenton Academy from 1866 to 1880. He

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

, was admitted to the bar in 1880 and commenced practice in Trenton, New Jersey. Lanning was elected city solicitor for Trenton in 1884. He was appointed judge of the city district court in 1887 and served until 1891, when legislated out of office. He served as member of a commission to frame township laws and of the constitutional commission of 1894. He served as President of the Mechanics' National Bank of Trenton in 1899.

Congressional service

Lanning was elected as a Republican to the

of the

58th United States Congress The 58th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC, from March 4, 1903, to ...

and served from March 4, 1903, to June 6, 1904, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial appointment.

Federal judicial service

Lanning received a recess appointment from 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 June 1, 1904, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Andrew Kirkpatrick. He was nominated to the same position by President Roosevelt on December 6, 1904. 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 December 13, 1904, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on May 24, 1909, due to his elevation to the Third Circuit. Lanning 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 May 6, 1909, to a joint seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States Circuit Courts for the Third Circuit vacated by Judge

George M. Dallas George Mifflin Dallas (July 10, 1792 – December 31, 1864) was an American politician and diplomat who served as mayor of Philadelphia from 1828 to 1829, the 11th vice president of the United States from 1845 to 1849, and U.S. Minister to the ...

. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 18, 1909, and received his commission the same day. On December 31, 1911, the Circuit Courts were abolished and he thereafter served only on the Court of Appeals. His service terminated on February 16, 1912, due to his death in Trenton. He was interred in Presbyterian Cemetery in Ewing Township.

Honor

An elementary school built on Pennington Road (

NJ 31 Route 31 is a state highway in New Jersey, United States. It runs from U.S. Route 1 Business (US 1 Bus.) / US 206 in Trenton, Mercer County, north to an intersection with US 46 in Buttzville in White Township, W ...

) in Ewing in 1914 was named in Lanning's honor. The school was closed and the building sold to a private institution in the mid-1990s, but as of 2014, is still standing and continues to bear Lanning's name.

References

External links

William Mershon Lanning
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanning, William Mershon 1849 births 1912 deaths People from Ewing Township, New Jersey Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey New Jersey lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey United States district court judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt 20th-century American judges United States court of appeals judges appointed by William Howard Taft Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Burials in New Jersey Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Lawrenceville School alumni 19th-century American politicians