Cuthbert Winfred Pound (June 20, 1864 – February 3, 1935) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He was Chief Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

from 1932 to 1934.

Life

He was born on June 20, 1864, in Lockport,

Niagara County, New York Niagara County is in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 212,666. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word ''Onguiaahra''; meaning ''the strait'' or ''thunder of ...

, the son of Alexander Pound and Almina (Whipple) Pound. He was educated at Lockport High School; and graduated from

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...

in 1887. While a student, Pound was a member of the

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...

fraternity. He studied law in the office of his brother John Pound (died 1904), was admitted to the bar in 1886, and practiced law in Lockport in partnership with his brother. Headstone of Cuthbert Pound Jun 09

Pound was a Republican member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

(29th D.) in

1894 Events January * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United States. * Ja ...

and

1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...

. Afterwards he moved to

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

and became a Law Professor at Cornell from 1895 to 1904. In June 1900, he was appointed by Governor

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

to the New York State Civil Service Commission, and remained in office until 1904. In 1903, his 11-year-old son Cuthbert W. Pound Jr. shot himself dead accidentally with a Flobert rifle. Governor Frank W. Higgins chose Pound as Legal Adviser to the Governor, to take office on January 1, 1905, and in May 1906, appointed him to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry A. Childs. In November 1906, Pound was elected to a 14-year term to succeed himself. On August 3, 1915, he was designated a judge of the

under the Amendment of 1899 to replace Nathan Lewis Miller who had resigned. In November 1916, he was elected on the Republican and Progressive tickets to a 14-year term on the Court of Appeals, and was re-elected in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

. On March 8, 1932, he was appointed by Governor

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

as Chief Judge to succeed

Benjamin N. Cardozo Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870 – July 9, 1938) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals from 1914 to 1932 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1932 until his deat ...

who had been appointed to 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 turn on question ...

. In November 1932, he was elected to succeed himself, and retired from the bench at the end of 1934 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. He was author of this inscription on the University of Buffalo Hayes Hall Tower Bell: "All truth is one. In this light, may Science and Religion labor here together for the steady evolution of mankind, from darkness to light, from prejudice to tolerance, from narrowness to broadmindedness." This quotation was recited from memory by Clifford Stoll, at the 2006 TED Conference. He was member of the

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

from 1913 until his death. He died on February 3, 1935, in Ithaca; and was buried at the Cold Springs Cemetery in Lockport.

References

Sources

Appointed to the Civil Service Commission, in NYT on June 12, 1900

His son's death, in NYT on June 5, 1903

Appointed Counsel to the Governor, in NYT on December 22, 1904

Appointed to NY Supreme Court, in NYT on May 29, 1906

Appointed to the Court of Appeals, in NYT on August 4, 1915 (Note: "Designation" is an appointment which does not require confirmation by the State Senate)

Election result in NYT on November 9, 1916

Appointed Chief Judge, in NYT on March 9, 1932

Listing of Court of Appeals judges, with portrait

Portrait with link to biography
''10,000 Famous Freemasons from K to Z''
by William R. Denslow & Harry S. Truman, Kessinger Publishing, 2004, , ; page 360)
''Great American Judges: An Encyclopedia''
by John R. Vile (ABC-CLIO, 2003, , ; page 630) , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pound, Cuthbert W. 1864 births 1935 deaths Chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals Cornell University alumni New York (state) Progressives (1912) 20th-century New York state court judges Republican Party New York (state) state senators New York Supreme Court justices Politicians from Ithaca, New York Politicians from Lockport, New York 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature