Marion Tinsley Bennett (June 6, 1914 – September 6, 2000) served as a member of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, as a judge of the United States Court of Claims and as a

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of the

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Education and career

Born in Buffalo,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

on June 6, 1914 to Philip Allen Bennett and Mary Bertha (Tinsley) Bennett, he received his Artium Baccalaureus degree from Southwest Missouri State College (now Missouri State University) in 1935 and earned a Juris Doctor from

Washington University School of Law Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (WashULaw) is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private university in St. Louis, Missouri. WashULaw has consistently ranked among the top law schools in the country; it is c ...

in 1938, after which he entered private practice. While practicing law, he was elected to the Greene County, Missouri Republican Central Committee, and managed his father's two Congressional election campaigns. Additionally, in 1950 he became a

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Colonel, a position he held until 1974.

Personal

In 1941 he married June Young of Hurley Missouri; they had two children.

Congressman

When his father died in office in early 1943, Bennett was chosen in a special election to complete his father's term in the

78th Congress The 78th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1943, ...

. He was 28 years old. Winning reelection twice, he served in the 79th and 80th Congresses.

Tour of German concentration camps

Bennett was part of an official ten member Congressional delegation invited by General

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to follow the

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into Buchenwald concentration camp near

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in 1945. The delegation's members toured the United States speaking and reporting on what they had seen of the horrific conditions in the camp. Bennett is quoted in the New York Times on May 6, 1945, "I left Buchenwald convinced that every German must be killed."

Federal judicial service

Following the end of his Congressional service, Bennett was appointed as a Trial Judge (Commissioner) of the United States Court of Claims, in which position he served from 1949 to 1972. He served as Chief of the Trial Division of the Court of Claims from 1964 to 1972. Bennett was nominated by President

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on May 22, 1972, to a seat on the United States Court of Claims vacated by Judge Linton McGee Collins. He was confirmed by the

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on June 28, 1972, and received his commission on June 28, 1972. He was reassigned by

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on October 1, 1982, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 96 Stat. 25. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on March 1, 1986, and took inactive senior status in 1997. His service terminated on September 6, 2000, due to his death.

Death and burial

Bennett died in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

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, on September 6, 2000, and is buried at Hazelwood Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri.

Bibliography

* ''American immigration policies : a history'' by Marion T. Bennett. Washington : Public Affairs Press, c1963. * ''Private claims act and congressional references'' y Marion T. Bennett Washington : U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1968. * ''The United States Court of Claims : a history'', pt. 1. The judges, 1855-1976, by Marion T. Bennett / pt. 2. Origin, development, jurisdiction, 1855-1978, W. Cowen, P. Nichols, M.T. Bennett. Washington, D.C. : Committee on the Bicentennial of Independence and the Constitution of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 1976 i.e. 1977-1978. 2 vol.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Marion T. 1914 births 2000 deaths People from Buffalo, Missouri People from Greene County, Missouri Missouri State University alumni Washington University School of Law alumni Missouri lawyers Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judges of the United States Court of Claims United States Article I federal judges appointed by Richard Nixon 20th-century American judges Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri 20th-century American politicians Washington University in St. Louis alumni