George Ross Anderson Jr. (January 29, 1929December 1, 2020) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a judge of the

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (in case citations, D.S.C.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charle ...

. After graduating from

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 ...

and

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

, Anderson served for a year in the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

during the Korean War. He worked in private legal practice from 1954 and was elected to the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

for a one-year term in 1955. Anderson became a federal judge in 1980, nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

. He assumed senior status in 2009 and retired in 2016.

Early life and education

Anderson was born in Anderson,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. His father worked for the Equinox textile mill but forbade his son from working there. Anderson instead had a number of jobs, including delivering newspapers and roofing. He earned his Bachelor of Commercial Science degree from

in 1949, studied political science at

from 1949 to 1951, 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 ...

from the

University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. Founded in 1867, it is the only public and non-profit law school in South Car ...

in 1954.

Career

He was a

legislative assistant A legislative assistant (LA), legislative analyst, legislative research assistant, or legislative associate, is a person who works for a legislator as a legislative staffer in a semi-political partisan capacity, in a non-partisan capacity at a th ...

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Olin D. Johnston from 1947 to 1951 and from 1953 to 1954. He served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

from 1951 to 1952, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. He served as a finance instructor and historian to an air wing during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Anderson served in the

from 1955 to 1956, and practiced law in Anderson from 1954 to 1980. (cites David Dykes of

The Greenville News ''The Greenville News'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Greenville, South Carolina. After ''The State (newspaper), The State'' in Columbia and Charleston's ''The Post and Courier'', it is the third largest paper in South Carolina. Hi ...

) He was unpopular during his single term in the state legislature due to his support for prison expansion. During his career, Anderson was an early fingerprint analyst for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, helped to design the water supply system for Anderson County and arranged for cable television to be installed in the area. Anderson was one of the twelve founders of South Carolina Association for Justice, and its president from 1971 to 1972. They honored him with a lifetime achievement award shortly before he took senior status.

Federal judicial service

Later life and death

A federal courthouse was renamed in honor of Anderson in 2002, a rare honor for a living judge. The student center at Anderson University was named after him in 2015 and was one of his last public appearances. He was awarded the

Order of the Palmetto The Order of the Palmetto is the highest civilian honor awarded by the governor of South Carolina. It is awarded to South Carolinians who demonstrate extraordinary lifetime achievement, service and contributions of national or statewide significan ...

by South Carolina. Anderson suffered declining health in later life and died on December 1, 2020, at a South Carolina nursing home. Anderson received honorary doctoral degrees from Anderson University, the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

, and the Charleston School of Law. He was instrumental in the life of his hometown's Anderson University and served on its Board of Regents. The G. Ross Anderson Student Center was constructed and named in his honor in 2016.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, G. Ross 1929 births 2020 deaths Employees of the United States Senate George Washington University Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina Politicians from Anderson, South Carolina Military personnel from South Carolina South Carolina lawyers United States Air Force airmen United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges University of South Carolina School of Law alumni Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Southeastern University (Washington, D.C.) alumni 20th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly