Robert Sellers Frazer (September 18, 1849 – July 31, 1936) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...

from 1915 to 1930 and chief justice from 1930 to 1936.

Biography

Robert S. Frazer was born on September 18, 1849, in

Fayette City, Pennsylvania Fayette City is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 502 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 596 tabulated in 2010. It is served by the Belle ...

, to Caleb and Sarah Baker Frazer. Early in his childhood, he moved with his family to

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...

. He attended the

Western University of Pennsylvania The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, hom ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and studied law. He served in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

as a Republican from 1877 to 1879 and entered private law practice until being elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 1896. He was re-elected as judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1906 after becoming president judge on November 5, 1900. Frazer served on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas until his election to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1914. He served as an associate justice from 1915 to 1930, before becoming chief justice in 1930, serving until 1936. He died on July 31, 1936, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Frazer held honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degrees from the University of Pittsburgh,

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. He also served as president of the Elizabeth Steel Magee Hospital, a position he held at the time of his death.

References

1849 births 1936 deaths Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers University of Pittsburgh alumni {{Pennsylvania-state-judge-stub