Hugh R. Adair (August 29, 1889 – January 18, 1971)"In Memoriam: Hugh R. Adair", 156 ''Montana Reports'' (1971), xxvii-xxviii. was a legislator, lieutenant governor, and justice of the

Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court w ...

, United States. He served on the court as associate justice from 1943 to 1946, as chief justice from 1947 to 1956, and again as an associate justice from 1957 until 1968. Adair was born in

Trego County, Kansas Trego County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is WaKeeney. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,808. The county was named for Edgar Trego. History Early history For many mil ...

.Hugh R. Adair Dies in Helena", ''Great Falls Tribune'' (January 19, 1971), p. 1. He graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

in 1913 with an LL.B and was admitted to the State Bar of Montana on January 26, 1914. He served in the Tank Corps 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 ...

. Adair was elected to the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

in 1927 and 1931. He took office as lieutenant governor in 1937, serving until 1941. In Montana, the lieutenant governor also serves as President of the Senate. He was elected in 1942 to the Supreme Court as an associate justice and became chief justice in 1947. He served in that capacity until January 7, 1957 when he chose to return to Associate Justice status because, due to the salary structure of the court, the pay would be $2,000 more per year than continuing as chief justice. He remained at that status until his retirement in 1968. He died in a hospital in

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat, seat of Lewis and Clark County, Montana, Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold ...

at 81 years old.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Adair, Hugh R. 1889 births 1971 deaths People from Trego County, Kansas University of Kansas alumni 20th-century American state court judges Montana state senators Lieutenant governors of Montana American military personnel of World War I Politicians from Helena, Montana Chief justices of the Montana Supreme Court 20th-century members of the Montana Legislature

See also

References