Robert Wilburn Calvert (February 22, 1905 – October 6, 1994) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Texas The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court ...

from September 18, 1950 to October 4, 1972, serving as chief justice from January 3, 1961 to October 4, 1972. His father died when he was seven, and his destitute mother placed him in an orphanage, where he endured harsh conditions for ten years, including the death of his sister from the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

in 1918. He graduated as salutatorian of the State Orphans' Home high school 1923, and then studied law at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. He was elected to the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

in 1933, and was

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives The speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the ...

from 1937 to 1939.

References

Justices of the Supreme Court of Texas 1905 births 1994 deaths Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives 20th-century Texas state court judges 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature {{Texas-state-judge-stub