John Downey Works (March 29, 1847June 6, 1928) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a U.S. Senator representing

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from 1911 to 1917, and an associate justice of the

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from October 2, 1888, to January 5, 1891.

Biography

Works was born in

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, and attended public schools there. During the

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, he served as a member of the 10th Regiment of the Indiana Cavalry. Once discharged, he returned home, read law and in 1868 was admitted to the Indiana bar. In November 1878, he was elected as a representative in the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. Th ...

, serving during the 1879 term. In June 1883, he published a book of practice, pleading and forms to match the revised code of Indiana. In 1883, Works's poor health forced a move to

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, where he became active in the Republican Party, and rose in California politics. In September 1886, he ran on the Republican ticket, and prior to the election was appointed by Governor Robert Waterman as a judge of the San Diego County Superior Court. In September 1887, he resigned to return to private practice, and Governor Waterman appointed Edwin Parker to fill the vacant seat. In 1888, Governor Waterman appointed Works as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court to fill a vacancy after the resignation of Elisha W. McKinstry. In August 1888, the Republican Party nominated Works and he was elected to the remaining portion of McKinstry's term ending January 5, 1891. In 1891, after stepping down from the bench, Works became president of the San Diego Sun company, and then returned to private practice with his son in the firm of Works & Works in San Diego. In January 1896, Works moved to

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. On December 7, 1909, he was elected as a council member of the

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, and chosen as its president, but he resigned shortly after on March 22, 1910. In 1911, Works was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served on the committee on Expenditures in the War Department ( Sixty-second United States Congress) and the Committee on Fisheries. In February 1917, he and other Progressive Senators, under the moniker "twelve willful men," blocked by filibuster legislation empowering President

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to arm merchant vessels prior to the United States entering

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. After retiring from the Senate he wrote two books: (1919) ''Duty to Man: A Study of Social Conditions and How They May Be Improved'' and (1922) ''What's Wrong With the World?'' On June 6, 1928, he died in

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and his ashes were placed in Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Personal life

On November 7, 1868, he married Alice Banta, in

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, and they had two sons, Thomas L. and Louis R., who became an attorney and practiced with his father, and later the presiding justice of the Court of Appeal, Second Division; as well as five daughters: Josephine (who died as an infant), Ida, Laura, Ethel and Isabel. He is said to have been a member of the Church of Christ, Scientist.The Political Graveyard: Christian Scientist Politicians
at politicalgraveyard.com

Notes

Selected publications

* Works, John D. (1919)
Man's Duty to Man: A Study of Social Conditions and How They May Be Improved
New York: Neale Publishing Co.
Online books by John D. Works
Library of the University of Pennsylvania.

External links

Guide to the John D. Works Papers
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

John D. Works
California Supreme Court Historical Society.
''John D. Works v. Superior Court''
130 Cal. 304, 62 P. 507 (Cal. 1900).

California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Works, John Downey 1847 births 1928 deaths People from Rising Sun, Indiana American Christian Scientists California Republicans Republican Party United States senators from California Justices of the Supreme Court of California Superior court judges in the United States U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians Politicians from San Diego Presidents of the Los Angeles City Council People of Indiana in the American Civil War Union Army soldiers Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery California state court judges