Fenton Whitlock Booth (May 12, 1869 – July 26, 1947) was a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

and later chief justice of the Court of Claims.

Education and career

Born on May 12, 1869, in

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Booth attended

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

, where he was a member of

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834, at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek-letter organization founded in North America ...

, and received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1892 from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

. He entered private practice in Marshall from 1892 to 1905. He was a member of the

from 1896 to 1898. He was a delegate to the

1904 Republican National Convention The 1904 Republican National Convention was held in the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on June 21 to June 23, 1904. The popular President Theodore Roosevelt had easily ensured himself of the nomination; a threat had come f ...

. He was dean of

Howard University Law School Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the old ...

from 1922 to 1930. He was a professor at the National University Law School (now

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

) from 1931 to 1938. He was a professor at

Southeastern University Southeastern University is a Private university, private Christian university in Lakeland, Florida, United States. It was established in 1935 in New Brockton, Alabama, as Southeastern Bible Institute, relocated to Lakeland in 1946, and became ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He refused to accept remuneration for any of his academic service.Marion Tinsley Bennett, Wilson Cowen, Philip Nichols, ''The United States Court of Claims: The Judges, 1855-1976'' (1978), p. 104. He was Chairman of Board #10 of the

Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money ( price con ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Federal judicial service

Booth was nominated by President

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 ...

on March 14, 1905, to a seat on the Court of Claims (later the

United States Court of Claims The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims (), and abolished in 1982. Then, its jurisdiction was assumed by the n ...

) vacated by Judge

Francis Marion Wright Francis Marion Wright (August 5, 1844 – July 15, 1917) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois and previously was a judge of the Court of Claims. Early life Born in Adams C ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on March 17, 1905, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on April 23, 1928, due to his elevation to be Chief Justice of the same court. Booth was nominated by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

on April 18, 1928, to the Chief Justice seat on the Court of Claims vacated by Chief Justice Edward Kernan Campbell. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 18, 1928, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on June 15, 1939. His service terminated on July 26, 1947, due to his death in Indianapolis.

Personal

Booth was the nephew of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

political figure

Newton Booth Newton Booth (December 30, 1825July 14, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and politician who served as the 11th governor of California from 1871 to 1875 and as U.S. Senator from California from 1875 to 1881. He was the only member of the Anti-Mo ...

. He married Mabel Dana on December 17, 1893.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Fenton Whitlock 1869 births 1947 deaths Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Judges of the United States Court of Claims United States Article I federal judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt Deans of law schools in the United States DePauw University alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Marshall, Illinois Illinois lawyers 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly Delta Upsilon members