Alexander Campbell King (December 7, 1856 – July 25, 1926) was the 16th

Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

and a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

. King was a founding partner of the international law firm of

King & Spalding King & Spalding LLP is an American international corporate law firm that is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and with offices located in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It has over 1,200 lawyers in 23 offices globally. It is A ...

Education and career

Born on December 7, 1856, in Charleston,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, to J. Gadsden King and Carolina Clifford (Postell) King, King read law in 1875, at 19 years of age. He entered private practice in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

from 1875 to 1918, serving as general legal counsel to various railroad companies. For the

Atlanta & West Point Railroad The Atlanta and West Point Rail Road was a railroad in the U.S. state of Georgia, forming the east portion of the Atlanta- Selma West Point Route. The company was chartered in 1847 as the Atlanta and LaGrange Rail Road and renamed in 1857; constr ...

he took the position of assistant general counsel from 1887 to 1893, simultaneously serving as general counsel for the East & West Railroad of Alabama from 1887 to 1889, and again as assistant general counsel to the

Richmond and Danville Railroad The Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) Company was a railroad that operated independently from 1847 until 1894, first in the U.S. state of Virginia, and later on of track in nine states. Chartered on March 9, 1847, the railroad completed its ...

and Richmond & West Point Terminal Co., from 1890 to 1892. Lastly, King represented the Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad from 1894 to 1901. In 1912, King was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, as a committee member to report on revision in equity in United States courts. He also served on the board of directors, and as one term Chairman, of the State Bar Examiners for the State of Georgia from 1913 to 1918. In 1916, King received a civil law degree from Sewanee: The University of the South, in Sewanee,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Solicitor General

King was the 16th

from November 21, 1918 to May 24, 1920. With his breadth of knowledge in railroad legislation he was a valuable asset to the administration, contributing his expertise when faced with cases involving the Southern Pacific Railroad throughout 1919. During this time he also served as a counselor for the American Red Cross.

Federal judicial service

King was nominated by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

on April 29, 1920, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Don Albert Pardee. 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 May 24, 1920, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 31, 1924, due to his resignation.

Post judicial service and death

Following his resignation from the federal bench, King returned to private practice in Atlanta from 1925 to 1926, returning as a founding partner of the law firm of King, Spalding, MacDougal & Sibley (now

). He died on July 25, 1926,His Federal Judicial Center Biography gives his death date as July 25, 1926, but his Solicitor General's biography gives his death date at July 26, 1926. in Flat Rock, Henderson County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. He was interred in Atlanta, where he resided. He was survived by his wife of 45 years, Alice May Fowler and his two sons.

Note

References

Sources

* *

External links

Alexander Campbell King Law Library at the University of Georgia School of Law.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Alexander Campbell 1856 births 1926 deaths Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina Sewanee: The University of the South alumni United States Solicitors General Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson 20th-century American judges United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law