Frederick William Brune IV (October 15, 1894 – February 19, 1972) was an American jurist who served as Chief Judge of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland (previously the Maryland Court of Appeals) is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief justice and six associate justices, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of ...

. Brune was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

to Frederick William Brune III and Blanche Shoemaker Brune. He received his early education from Gilman School. He attended

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, and graduated with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1915. He graduated from the

Harvard University School of Law Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United States. Each class ...

with an

LL.B. 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 1920. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Brune served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Intelligence and Ambulance Corps. He was admitted to the Maryland

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1921, and worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney from 1923 to 1924. He entered into private practice with William Coleman and Edward Morgan in 1924, and later worked in the practice of Morgan & Brune from 1927 to 1928. He later worked in the practice of Semmes, Bowen, & Semmes from 1928 to 1954. In 1954, Brune was appointed Chief Judge of the

, where he served until 1964. Brune also held positions of President of the Baltimore Bar Association (1939–1940); President of the Maryland Bar Association (1947–1948); fellow of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

; President of the

Maryland Historical Society The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and interpr ...

; and as a member of the

Board of Visitors In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

of Harvard Law School. Brune was married to Mary Washington Keyser, with whom he had two children, Frederick William Brune V and Caroline, who died in infancy.

References

Biography
from the Maryland Archives 1894 births 1972 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Maryland Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Lawyers from Baltimore United States Army soldiers 20th-century Maryland state court judges 20th-century American lawyers {{Maryland-state-judge-stub