Smith Hickenlooper (February 13, 1880 – December 22, 1933) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...

. He was previously a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (in case citations, S.D. Ohio) is one of two United States district courts in Ohio and includes forty-eight of the state's eighty-eight counties—everything from the Columbus, Oh ...

Early life and education

Born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio, Hickenlooper was the son of Maria Lloyd (Smith) and

Andrew Hickenlooper Andrew Hickenlooper (August 10, 1837 – May 12, 1904) was an Ohioan civil engineer, politician, industrialist, and a Union Army Lieutenant colonel (United States), lieutenant colonel of artillery and engineers. In recognition of his service, i ...

, who was a civil engineer, politician, industrialist, and a Union Army lieutenant colonel. He graduated from Woodward High School, and received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

in 1901 and 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

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1904. While at the University of Cincinnati, Smith, along with his brother Andrew, founded Sigma Sigma in 1898.

Career

He was in private practice in Cincinnati from 1904 to 1918, also serving as a member of the Cincinnati Board of Education from 1908 to 1909, and as a member of the board of directors of the

from 1910 to 1916. He was an assistant prosecuting attorney of

Hamilton County, Ohio Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the List of counties in Ohio, third-most populous county in Ohio. The coun ...

from 1916 to 1918, but left to join the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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 ...

, serving as a private in a field artillery unit in 1918. Hickenlooper returned to Ohio before the end of 1918 and served as a judge on the Superior Court of Cincinnati from 1918 to 1923.

Federal judicial service

Hickenlooper was nominated by President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

on March 3, 1923, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge John Weld Peck. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on March 3, 1923, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on January 7, 1929, due to his elevation to the Sixth Circuit. Hickenlooper was nominated by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

on December 6, 1928, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Maurice H. Donahue. He was confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 1928, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 22, 1933, due to his death in Cincinnati.

Personal life

Hickenlooper married Anna Bailey Wright of Cincinnati on October 18, 1910. His grandson is U.S. Senator and former governor

John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. ( ; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician, geologist, and businessman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A mem ...

. He is also related to pianist

Olga Samaroff Olga Samaroff (August 8, 1880May 17, 1948) was an American pianist, music critic, and teacher. Among her teachers was Charles-Valentin Alkan's son, Élie-Miriam Delaborde. Her second husband was the conductor Leopold Stokowski. Samaroff was ...

, (née Lucy Mary Olga Agnes Hickenlooper).

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickenlooper, Smith 1880 births 1933 deaths Ohio state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio United States district court judges appointed by Warren G. Harding Judges of the Superior Court of Cincinnati Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge 20th-century American lawyers Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery University of Cincinnati trustees Lawyers from Cincinnati University of Cincinnati alumni Harvard Law School alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Ohio lawyers United States Army soldiers Hickenlooper family Woodward High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) alumni