Mell Gilbert Underwood (January 30, 1892 – March 8, 1972) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and 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, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (in case citations, S.D. Ohio) is one of two United States district courts in Ohio and includes forty-eight of the state's eighty-eight counties–everything from the Columbus are ...

Education and career

Born at Rose Farm in rural Morgan County,

, Underwood attended the public schools. He was graduated from the New Lexington High School in 1911. He taught in the public schools of New Lexington for several years. Underwood studied at the

Ohio State University Moritz College of Law The Michael E. Moritz College of Law is the professional graduate law school of the Ohio State University, a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1891, the school is located in Drinko Hall on the main campus of the ...

at Columbus, and then read law to be admitted to the bar in 1915. He entered private practice in New Lexington from 1915 to 1923. He was a prosecuting attorney of Perry County, Ohio from 1917 to 1921.>

Congressional service

Underwood was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election in 1920 to the

67th United States Congress The 67th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 192 ...

. Eventually elected as a Democrat to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

of the 68th United States Congress and the six succeeding Congresses, he served from March 4, 1923, to April 10, 1936. He was Chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions for the 72nd through the

74th United States Congress The 74th 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, 1935, ...

es.

Federal judicial service

On January 27, 1936, Underwood was nominated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Benson W. Hough. Underwood was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on February 4, 1936, and received his commission on February 12, 1936. He served as Chief Judge from 1953 to 1962, assuming

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 December 31, 1965. Underwood served in that capacity until his death on March 8, 1972, on his farm near New Lexington and was buried nearby in Maplewood Cemetery.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Mell Gilbert 1892 births 1972 deaths People from Morgan County, Ohio People from New Lexington, Ohio Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni County district attorneys in Ohio United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio