John Gregory Bruce (February 16, 1897 – December 4, 1985) was a judge of the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a Federal judiciary of the United States, federal trial court court of record, of record established by US Congress, Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article ...

from 1952 to 1967. Born in

Edinburgh, Indiana Edinburgh () is a town in Johnson, Bartholomew, and Shelby counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 4,435 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Columbus, Indiana metropolitan statistical area. Edinburgh was named in honor o ...

, Bruce attended schools in Indiana and

Pineville, Kentucky Pineville () is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Bell County, Kentucky, Bell County, Kentucky, United States. It is the county seat, seat of its county. The population was 1,732 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cens ...

, and served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1918 to 1921.''Official Congressional Directory'' (1979), p. 749. He received an A.B. from

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

in 1921, followed by 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 ...

(cum laude) from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

in 1924, where he was editor-in-chief of the

Kentucky Law Journal The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, also known as UK Rosenberg College of Law, is the law school of the University of Kentucky located in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded initially from a law program at Transylvania Universi ...

."J. Gregory Bruce", ''The Danville Advocate-Messenger'' (December 5, 1985), p. 2. Bruce gained

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in Kentucky in 1923. He was an attorney for the Fordson Coal Company (a subsidiary of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

) in Pineville, Kentucky and Detroit, Michigan, from 1924 to 1931, and was thereafter in private practice in Pineville until 1934. He served as an attorney in the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

from 1934 to 1936, and was chief of the Trial Division of the Bureau of War Risk Litigation from 1936 to 1943, assistant chief of the Frauds Section, Claims Division, from 1943 to 1951, and chief of that section from 1951 to 1952. On April 17, 1952, President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

nominated Bruce to a seat on the United States Tax Court vacated by the death of Judge J. Russell Leech."Kentuckian Named to Tax Court Vacancy", ''The Knoxville News-Sentinel'' (April 17, 1952), p. 16. Bruce took the oath of office on May 28, 1952, and was reappointed by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

on May 13, 1958, for a succeeding 12-year term, but retired on May 31, 1967. He was recalled to perform further judicial duties on June 1, 1967.

Personal life and death

Bruce married Zilpha Foster, with whom he had three sons. Bruce died in his home in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, at the age of 88.

References

Judges of the United States Tax Court United States Article I federal judges appointed by Harry S. Truman United States Article I federal judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower 1897 births 1985 deaths People from Indiana Transylvania University alumni University of Kentucky College of Law alumni {{US-federal-judge-stub