Dessaline Harris (1 October 1895 – 29 March 1966) was a

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n jurist and a member of the

Supreme Court of Liberia The Supreme Court of Liberia is the highest judicial body in Liberia. The court consists of the Chief Justice of Liberia, who is also the top judiciary official, and four associate justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed by ...

Early life and career

Born 1 October 1895, Buchanan,

Grand Bassa County Grand Bassa is a county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight districts. Buchanan serves as the capital with th ...

, he studied at Cuttington College and began his public career as a Justice of the Peace in 1916. From 1940 to 1947, he was the Grand Bassa County attorney; he left this position to become the judge of the county's circuit court, which office he held until 6 January 1954. On the latter date, he was appointed to the Supreme Court by President

William Tubman William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (29 November 1895 – 23 July 1971) was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th president of Liberia and the longest-serving president in the country's history, serving from his election in 1944 until his dea ...

, and he remained on the court until his death on 29 March 1966, aged 70.

Personal life

Harris was married three times and fathered twelve children (four sons and eight daughters); he was a member of multiple

fraternal organizations A fraternity or fraternal organization is an organized society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood; dedicated to the intellectual, physical, and social development of its members. Service clubs, lineage so ...

and of the Episcopal Church. After his death, he was honored with funeral services at the Capitol Building and the Temple of Justice before his burial in his native Buchanan."Justice Harris To Be Buried in Bassa". ''Liberian Star'', 30 March 1966: 1/6.

References

1895 births 1966 deaths Cuttington University alumni Justices of the peace Liberian Episcopalians People from Buchanan, Liberia Supreme Court of Liberia justices Place of death missing 20th-century Liberian judges {{Africa-law-bio-stub