Charles Culp Burlingham (August 31, 1858 – June 6, 1959) was a prominent

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 U ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

, legal reformer, and president of the

New York City Bar Association The New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization, formally known as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, has been headquartered in a ...

Early life and education

Charles Culp Burlingham was born in Plainfield,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, on August 31, 1858. He was the son of the Reverend Aaron Hale and Emma Starr Burlingham. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1879, and he received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1881 (he received an honorary

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree from Columbia in 1933).

Career

Private practice

Burlingham was admitted to the New York bar in 1881. He became a leader in the field of

admiralty law Admiralty law or maritime law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between priv ...

, and took up private practice in a series of partnerships, eventually becoming lead partner in the firm Burlingham, Veeder, Masten, & Feary, a precursor to the modern firm of Burlingham Underwood LLP, which closed in 2002. Charles Burlingham represented a number of prominent clients through his firm, including the

Holland America Line Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and from 1873 to 1989, it operated ...

, Anchor Line,

Nippon Yusen Nippon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha (Japan Mail Shipping Line), also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company and is a member of the Mitsubishi ''keiretsu''. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a fle ...

, and other shipping lines in North America,

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, and

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. His most famous client in private practice was

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between ...

, which he successfully represented before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

in 1912, following the sinking of the ''

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

''. The case resulted in a landmark ruling that American laws were applicable to foreign shipping firms facing lawsuits in United States courts, and limited the total liability of the company to $91,000 in lawsuits brought by the families of ''Titanic'' passengers.

Civic involvement

Burlingham was best known for his involvement in civic and legal reform in New York City, a commitment which earned him the nickname “first citizen of New York.”“Charles Burlingham Dies at 100; Lawyer Fought for Civic Reform.” ''The New York Times''. June 8, 1959. After being admitted to the bar, he served in leadership positions in a number of prominent civic organizations. He joined the

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in 1897, and served as the Board’s president from 1902 to 1903. In addition, he served as president of the Welfare Council of New York City, the Harvard Alumni Association, the

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

Alumni Association, and as a warden of St. George’s Episcopal Church. His expertise in maritime law led him to become a prominent member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and the Comite Maritime International. He also served as a member of the New York County Lawyers Association, the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs ...

, and the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

. Burlingham was a prominent participant in New York City judicial and electoral politics, and his influence was instrumental in beginning the legal careers of, among others,

Benjamin Cardozo Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

and

Learned Hand Billings Learned Hand ( ; January 27, 1872 – August 18, 1961) was an American jurist, lawyer, and judicial philosopher. He served as a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1909 to 1924 an ...

. He was also a friend and close adviser to New York City

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Fiorello LaGuardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City from ...

. From 1929 to 1931, Burlingham served as president of the

Death

Charles Culp Burlingham died on June 6, 1959, in New York City.

References

Sources

Books

* Martin, George. “CCB: The Life and Century of Charles C. Burlingham, New York’s First Citizen.” New York, NY: Hill and Wang, 2005. * Burlingham, Michael John. "The Last Tiffany: A Biography of Dorothy Tiffany Burlingham," New York, NY: Atheneum, 1989.

Newspapers

“Charles Burlingham Dies at 100; Lawyer Fought for Civic Reform.” ''The New York Times''. June 8, 1959.Felix Frankfurter. “A Legal Tryptic.” ''The Harvard Law Review''. Vol. 74, No. 3. January 1961.
* ttps://www.nytimes.com/1958/08/31/archives/mr-burlinghams-centennial.html?sq=charles%2520culp%2520burlingham&scp=3&st=cse “Mr. Burlingham’s Centennial.” ''The New York Times''. August 31, 1958.br>“Puts Titanic Suits Under Limited Law.” ''The New York Times''. May 26, 1914.

External sources

Charles Culp Burlingham Papers at Harvard UniversityCharles Culp Burlingham Biography on the New York Archive ProjectPapers of Burlingham Underwood LLP at Harvard Law School“Reminiscences of Charles Culp Burlingham,” at the Columbia University Oral History Project.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burlingham, Charles Culp New York (state) lawyers Harvard University alumni Columbia Law School alumni 1858 births 1959 deaths Presidents of the New York City Bar Association American men centenarians Members of the Men's League