William DeWitt Mitchell (September 9, 1874August 24, 1955) was an

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attorney who had served as both

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under

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Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...

and

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

under President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

Early life and education

Mitchell was born in

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, Winona County, in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota ...

William B. Mitchell William Mitchell (November 19, 1832 – August 21, 1900) was a lawyer and judge notable for his work in Minnesota as a member of the 3rd Minnesota District Court and Minnesota Supreme Court. He was also the first dean of the St. Paul College o ...

, a

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

Justice, and the former Frances Merritt. Mitchell originally attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

where he studied electrical engineering before becoming interested in law. After attending Yale for two years, Mitchell transferred to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, where he received his A.B. degree in 1895 and a member of the

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fraternity. Afterwards, he enrolled at the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent L ...

where he received his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree in 1896. Shortly after graduating from law school, Mitchell was admitted to the

Minnesota State Bar Association The Minnesota State Bar Association is a voluntary bar association for the state of Minnesota, whose members include lawyers, judges, and other legal practitioners, such as clerks, registrars, and paralegals. The MSBA is one of the oldest stat ...

and practiced law in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. He married the former Gertrude Bancroft on June 27, 1901. They had two sons which were William and Bancroft Mitchell.

Career

He formed the law firm of ''How, Taylor & Mitchell'', which became prominent in the Midwest. This prestige allowed Mitchell access to both the regional council of the U.S. Railroad Administration in 1919, and then he served as chairman of the Citizens Charter Committee of St. Paul in 1922.

Military service

He served as a line officer with the 15th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment and later an acting judge advocate for the United States Second Army Corps during the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...

.Microsoft Word - Wm D. Mitchell
/ref>Biographical Sketches of the Attorneys General
/ref> From 1899 to 1901 he was an engineer officer for the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division and later adjutant for the 4th Infantry Regiment of the

Minnesota Army National Guard The Minnesota Army National Guard, along with the Minnesota Air National Guard, is an element of the Minnesota National Guard. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. I ...

. During the First World War he served with the 6th Infantry Regiment of the Minnesota Army National Guard and later served at Camp Taylor, Kentucky until the war was over. He reached the rank of Colonel.

Government service

His combined military service placed him in position to be appointed to the position of

. Having served well in his position, President Hoover appointed him

Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the ...

from March 4, 1929, and he held that office until March 4, 1933, one of his principal acts having been to order the

Bonus Army The Bonus Army was a group of 43,000 demonstrators – 17,000 veterans of U.S. involvement in World War I, their families, and affiliated groups – who gathered in Washington, D.C., in mid-1932 to demand early cash redemption of their servi ...

dispersed and their camp destroyed.

Later career

Mitchell then settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he practiced law. He was named chairman of the ''Committee on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure'', and chief counsel of the joint congressional committee investigating the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

. Mitchell died there in

Syosset, New York Syosset (also known as Little East Woods or Locust Grove) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,259 at the 2020 ...

on August 24, 1955, at the age of 80.

References

External links

*
Profile
from the Department of Justice * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, William DeWitt 1874 births 1955 deaths Minnesota lawyers New York (state) lawyers Yale University alumni University of Minnesota alumni University of Minnesota Law School alumni United States Solicitors General People of the Spanish–American War United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers United States Attorneys General Presidents of the New York City Bar Association Hoover administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians Minnesota Republicans New York (state) Republicans People from Winona, Minnesota Military personnel from Minnesota