Walter Augustus Huxman (February 16, 1887 – June 25, 1972) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 27th governor of Kansas and a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Dist ...

Early life and education

Huxman was born in Pretty Prairie,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, and grew up on the family farm attending the local schools. He became a school teacher and from 1907 to 1909 he was principal of the Castleton Grade school and in 1910, principal of the Pretty Prairie Grade School. He attended Kansas State Normal School (now Emporia State University Teachers College) for two years and the

University of Kansas School of Law The University of Kansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Kansas, a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas Law School was founded in 1893, replacing the earlier Department of Law, which had ex ...

where he received 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 ...

in 1914.

Career

When he was admitted to the Kansas Bar Association, Huxman formed a partnership with Charles S. Fulton in Hutchinson, Kansas. As well as being in private practice from 1919 to 1937, he was an assistant county attorney of Kansas from 1915 to 1919, a city attorney from 1919 to 1921, and a member of the Kansas State Tax Commission from 1931 to 1932. An accomplished keynote speaker and chairman at the 1936 Democratic State Convention, Huxman was drafted as gubernatorial candidate.

Governor of Kansas

He won the 1936 Kansas gubernatorial election and was sworn in as the

governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

on January 11, 1937. Huxman's election as governor marked a reflection on his Republican predecessor, Alf Landon, who did not seek reelection as governor as he was instead the 1936 Republican presidential nominee. Landon had failed to carry Kansas in the presidential race which would indicate that Huxman would have defeated Landon had Landon ran for re-election as governor. During Huxman's tenure as governor, World War I soldier bonuses were paid, unemployment compensations benefits were approved, and driver's license regulations were amended. Huxman ran for re-election in 1938 but was defeated by Republican Payne Ratner.

Federal judicial service

Huxman was nominated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

on April 24, 1939, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Robert L. Williams. 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 May 17, 1939, and received his commission on May 23, 1939. He assumed senior status on April 1, 1957. His service terminated on June 25, 1972, due to his death. He was interred at Penwell-Gabel Cemetery and Mausoleum in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas. Huxman was a member of the three-judge federal trial court in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

'', and authored the court's opinion. Despite his personal objections to the ruling in '' Plessy'', he abided by that precedent, based on the premise that the right to overrule the Supreme Court is reserved to the Supreme Court itself.

Personal life

On January 21, 1915, he married Eula E. Biggs and they had one daughter, Ruth.

References

External links

* *
National Governors Association bio

Publications concerning Kansas Governor Huxman's administration available via the KGI Online Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huxman, Walter A. 1887 births 1972 deaths People from Reno County, Kansas Emporia State University alumni University of Kansas School of Law alumni Kansas lawyers Kansas state court judges Democratic Party governors of Kansas American Disciples of Christ Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt Politicians from Hutchinson, Kansas