Marcus Perrin Knowlton (February 3, 1839 – May 7, 1918) was an American politician and jurist who served as chief justice of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously func ...

Biography

Marcus Perrin Knowlton was born in

Wilbraham, Massachusetts Wilbraham is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb of the City of Springfield, and part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,613 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprises ...

, to Merrick and Fatima Knowlton. He graduated from

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 ...

in 1860 and was admitted to the

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in 1862 in Hampden County, where he made his residence in Springfield. He was elected to the City Council, and also represented Springfield in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

as well as the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

. In 1881, he was appointed to the

Massachusetts Superior Court The Massachusetts Superior Court (also known as the Superior Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court department in Massachusetts. The Superior Court has original jurisdiction in civil actions over $50,000, and in matters where equit ...

. His career there was successful enough to earn him a spot on the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 1887. Following the appointment of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in 1902, Knowlton took over as Chief Justice, and he held that position until he retired in 1911 due to failing eyesight. He died at his home in Springfield on May 7, 1918.

References

* 1839 births 1918 deaths Chief Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court People from Wilbraham, Massachusetts 19th-century American judges Yale University alumni {{Massachusetts-stub

Biography

See also

References