Joseph William Woodrough (August 29, 1873 – October 2, 1977) was 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 Eighth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western Dist ...

and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Nebraska The United States District Court for the District of Nebraska (in case citations, D. Neb.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Nebraska. Court offices are in Omaha and Lincoln. Appeals from the District of Nebraska ...

. He is the longest-serving federal judge in history, with a total service tenure of 61 years.

Education and career

Born on August 29, 1873, in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Woodrough studied at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

in the German Empire and then read law in 1893. He was a Judge of the Ward County Court in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

from 1894 to 1896. He was the County Attorney of Ward County in 1897. He was in private practice in Omaha,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, from 1898 to 1916.

Federal judicial service

Woodrough 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 March 13, 1916, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge William Henry Munger. 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 March 31, 1916, and received his commission on April 3, 1916. His service terminated on April 12, 1933, due to his elevation to the Eighth Circuit. Woodrough was nominated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on April 3, 1933, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Arba Seymour Van Valkenburg. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 12, 1933, and received his commission on April 12, 1933. 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 3, 1961. He heard no cases in this capacity. He died on October 2, 1977, at the age of 104.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodrough, Joseph William 1873 births 1977 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers American centenarians Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska Lawyers from Cincinnati Men centenarians Texas state court judges United States court of appeals judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt United States district court judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law

Education and career

Federal judicial service

See also

References

Sources