Thomas Gray Hull (May 20, 1926 – July 29, 2008) was 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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee (in case citations, E.D. Tenn.) is the federal court in the Sixth Circuit whose jurisdiction covers most of East Tennessee and a portion of Middle Tennessee. The court has ju ...

Education and career

Born in Greeneville,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, Hull was a Corporal in 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, from 1944 to 1946. Hull was a member of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Greeneville from 1940 and a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars from 1946. He went to

Tusculum College Tusculum University is a private Presbyterian university with its main campus in Tusculum, Tennessee. It is Tennessee's first university and the 28th-oldest operating college or university in the United States. In addition to its main campus, ...

and then received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Tennessee College of Law The Winston College of Law is the law school of the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1890, the College of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a charter member of the Association of Ame ...

in 1951. He was in private practice in Greeneville from 1951 to 1972. He was a member of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

from 1955 to 1965. He was the chief clerk of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1969 to 1970. He was a judge of the 20th Judicial Circuit of Tennessee from 1972 to 1979. In 1979, he and his brother-in-law Carl Brandon bought controlling interest of a bank in Greeneville, now known as Andrew Johnson Bank. He also was instrumental in the formation of Greeneville Federal Bank, where his son serves as president. He was a legal counsel to Governor

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...

of Tennessee from 1979 to 1981. He was in private practice in Greeneville from 1981 to 1982.

Federal judicial service

Hull was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

on October 24, 1983, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Frank Wiley Wilson. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on November 9, 1983, and received his commission on November 14, 1983. He served as Chief Judge from 1984 to 1991. He assumed senior status on October 1, 2002. Hull served in that capacity until July 29, 2008, due to an extended illness which led to his death, in Greeneville.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hull, Thomas Gray 1926 births 2008 deaths People from Greeneville, Tennessee Tennessee state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan Tusculum University alumni University of Tennessee College of Law alumni United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Army personnel of World War II