Charles Evans Hughes Jr. (November 30, 1889 – January 21, 1950) was the
United States Solicitor General
The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...
from 1929 to 1930. He was the son of Supreme Court chief justice
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
.
Early life
Hughes was born in
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 ...
on November 30, 1889. He was a son of Antoinette Ellen Carter Hughes (1864–1945) and
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
, the former governor of New York who served as
Chief Justice of the United States
The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...
and 1916 Republican presidential nominee.
He was an honor graduate of
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
where he was a member of
Delta Upsilon fraternity. After Brown he attended the
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
, serving as the president of the ''
Harvard Law Review
The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...
'' during his third and final year there. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1912.
Career
Admitted to the
bar in 1913, Hughes was secretary to
New York Judge (and future
Supreme Court of the United States
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 Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
Justice)
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 ...
from 1914 to 1916.
After practicing corporate law briefly, Hughes joined the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
as a private shortly after U.S. entry into
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Serving in
field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement.
Until the ear ...
, he was eventually commissioned a
second lieutenant on July 12, 1918. He served as an instructor at the artillery school at Saumur and was assigned to the intelligence section of the AEF headquarters in February 1919. He was then assigned to the
77th Division as an aide-de-camp to Brigadier General
Pelham D. Glassford. He returned to the United States on April 29 and was discharged on May 9, 1919.
Upon returning from the war, Hughes resumed the practice of primarily corporate law. Hughes practiced in the firm founded by his father,
Charles Evans Hughes Sr., then known as Carter, Hughes & Cravath (later known as
Hughes Hubbard & Reed).
Solicitor General
Appointed Solicitor General by
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...
,
Hughes was compelled to resign in order to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest when Hoover nominated Hughes's father to be
Chief Justice of the United States
The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...
.
Hughes re-joined Carter, Hughes & Cravath.
He also served on the
board of directors
A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency.
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
of
New York Life Insurance Company
New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company and the largest mutual insurance, mutual life insurance company in the United States, and is ranked #69 on the 2025 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporat ...
from 1930 to 1934.
Judge
Learned Hand
Billings Learned Hand ( ; January 27, 1872 – August 18, 1961) was an American jurist, lawyer, and judicial philosopher. He served as a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1909 to 1924 a ...
once observed that Charles Evans Hughes Sr. was the greatest lawyer he had ever known, "except that his son was even greater."
Personal life
On June 18, 1914, Hughes was married to Marjory Bruce Stuart in the little Chapel of St. Saviour, in the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine in
Morningside Heights, Manhattan
Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningsid ...
.
Marjory, then a senior at
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...
(her roommate was the groom's sister, Helen Hughes), was a daughter of Henry Clarence Stuart.
Together, they were the parents of two sons and two daughters:
*
Charles Evans Hughes III
Charles Evans Hughes III (March 14, 1915 – January 7, 1985) was an American architect. One of his most notable work was the Manufacturers Trust Company Building.
Biography
Hughes was the grandson of Chief Justice of the United States a ...
(1915–1985), an
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
.
[Goldberger, Paul]
"CHARLES E. HUGHES 3D DEAD; LEADER IN BANK ARCHITECTURE"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', January 10, 1985. Accessed May 4, 2008. "Mr. Hughes, who lived in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, was the grandson of Charles Evans Hughes, the former Chief Justice of the United States."
*
H. Stuart Hughes (1916–1999), a noted
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
and
activist
Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...
* Helen Hughes, who was named after Hughes's sister Helen Hughes, who died at age 28 in 1920.
* Marjory Bruce Hughes (1929–2014),
who married William Lee Johnson in 1952,
the former general counsel of
Otis Elevator Company
Otis Worldwide Corporation (trade name, branded as the Otis Elevator Company, its former legal name) styled as OTIS is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets
elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and related equipment.
...
.
He died of a brain tumor on January 21, 1950, and was buried at
Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.
References
External links
Biographyat USDOJ
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Charles Evans Jr.
United States Army personnel of World War I
United States Army officers
1889 births
1950 deaths
Brown University alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
Solicitors general of the United States
New York (state) Republicans
Lawyers from New York City
Military personnel from New York City
Deaths from brain cancer in New York (state)
20th-century American lawyers
Family of Charles Evans Hughes