John Riker Brady (March 9, 1822 – March 16, 1891) was an American judge, a justice of the New York Supreme Court, and best known for administering the presidential oath of office to

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...

Life and career

John Riker Brady was born in New York City in March 9, 1822, the son of Thomas S. Brady, an immigrant from Ireland who became an attorney and judge. Brady's brother was James T. Brady, a noted defense attorney. John R. Brady studied law with his father and became an attorney. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he served as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas beginning in 1856, and was a New York Supreme Court Justice from 1869 until his death. A highly regarded jurist, he was frequently reelected with support from both Democrats and Republicans. From 1888 to 1890, Brady served as president of

The Lambs The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a social club in New York City for actors, songwriters, and others involved in the theatre. It is America's oldest theatrical organization. "The Lambs" is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc ...

, and was first nontheatrical person to serve as shepherd. Brady died in New York City on March 16, 1891. He was buried at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in the Brady family vault.

Family

In 1863, Brady was married to Katharine Lydig. They were the parents of three daughters, Anna Katrina who died July 24, 1865, Mary Madeline (1866-1930) and Katharine Maude (1870-1950), and one son, James T. (died 1884).

Inauguration of Chester Alan Arthur

President

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

died over two months after he was shot by an assassin,

Charles Guiteau Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, then

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

, became President. Arthur was at home around midnight on the night of September 19, 1881 with Police Commissioner Stephen B. French, District Attorney Daniel G. Rollins, and attorney Elihu Root, when he learned in a telegram from members of Garfield's cabinet that Garfield had died. The cabinet members wired Arthur their advice that he should "take the oath of office as president of the United States without delay." It was after midnight when Arthur and his guests dispatched messengers to locate a judge who could administer the presidential oath. The first jurist who could be located in the early morning hours of September 20 was Brady. At about 2 A.M. Brady administered the oath of office to Arthur in Arthur's private apartment at 123 Lexington Avenue in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. After traveling to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Arthur was inaugurated again two days later by Chief Justice of the United States Morrison R. Waite in a public Capitol Hill ceremony.

Gallery

References

External links