John Knight (April 29, 1871 – June 15, 1955) was an American lawyer and politician from
New York. He was
President pro tempore of the New York State Senate from 1925 to 1931, and 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
from 1931 to 1955 and its Chief Judge from 1948 to 1955.
Education and career
Born on April 29, 1871, in
Arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
,
New York, Knight received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1893 from the
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...
and
read law in 1896. He was the town clerk for Arcade from 1892 to 1896. He was in private practice in Arcade from 1896 to 1900. He was a
Referee in Bankruptcy for the Western District of New York from 1899 to 1904. He was the district attorney for
Wyoming County, New York from 1904 to 1913. He was a member of the
New York State Assembly from 1913 to 1917. He was a member of the
New York State Senate from 1917 to 1931, serving as President Pro Tem from 1924 to 1931.
State legislative and political service
Knight was a member of the
New York State Assembly from Wyoming County in
1913
Events January
* January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...
,
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
,
1915
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction".
* January ...
and
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled.
* J ...
, and was Chairman of the Committee on Codes in 1915, and Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary in 1916. He was a member of the
New York State Senate from the 44th Senate District from 1917 to 1931, sitting in the
140th,
141st,
142nd,
143rd,
144th,
145th,
146th,
147th,
148th,
149th,
150th,
151st,
152nd,
153rd and
154th New York State Legislatures, and was President pro tempore from 1925 to 1931. Knight was an alternate delegate to the
1924 Republican National Convention
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
and a delegate to the
1928 Republican National Convention
The 1928 Republican National Convention was held at Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, from June 12 to June 15, 1928.
Because President Coolidge had announced unexpectedly he would not run for re-election in 1928, Commerce Secretary H ...
.
Federal judicial service
Knight received a
recess appointment
In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...
from 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 Gr ...
on March 18, 1931, to a seat on the
vacated by Judge
John R. Hazel.
''HOOVER PUTS KNIGHT ON FEDERAL BENCH''
in the ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' on March 31, 1931 (subscription required) He was nominated to the same position by President Hoover on December 15, 1931. 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 January 6, 1932, and received his commission on January 9, 1932. He served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1955. His service terminated on June 15, 1955, due to his death.
References
Sources
*
Appointed to federal bench, in New York Times on March 31, 1931
(subscription required)
(subscription required)
''Fenner-Broughton Family History: The Family of James Elory Fenner, 1844-1912, and Hester Adamantha (Broughton) Fenner, 1847-1922, of Crawford County, Pennsylvania''
by Jim Fenner (Closson Press, 1995)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, John
1871 births
1955 deaths
People from Arcade, New York
Majority leaders of the New York State Senate
Republican Party New York (state) state senators
Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York
United States district court judges appointed by Herbert Hoover
20th-century American judges