John Francis O'Brien (June 13, 1874 – December 25, 1939) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He was born on June 13, 1874, in Watertown,

Jefferson County, New York Jefferson County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,721. Its county seat is Watertown. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United S ...

, the son of New York Attorney General

Denis O'Brien Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for several years. His bus ...

. He graduated from Georgetown College (now part of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

) in 1896, and from

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

in 1898. He served as Assistant Corporation Council of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. After

Benjamin N. Cardozo Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870 – July 9, 1938) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals from 1914 to 1932 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1932 until his deat ...

took office as

Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals The Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, also known as the Chief Judge of New York, supervises the seven-judge New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York ...

in January 1927, O'Brien was appointed a judge to fill the vacancy, and in November 1927 was elected to a fourteen-year term. Ill health compelled him to tender his resignation on December 7, effective December 31, 1939. He died on December 25, before the resignation could take effect, but already on December 22 Albert Conway was appointed by Governor

Herbert Lehman Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American financier and Democratic politician who served as the 45th and first Jewish governor of New York from 1933 to 1942 and represented New York in the United States Senate f ...

to fill the vacancy temporarily, to take office on January 1, 1940.

Sources

Bio at Court History

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, John F. Judges of the New York Court of Appeals 1874 births 1939 deaths Georgetown University alumni New York Law School alumni