Sherman Minton, 1949-1956

SHERMAN MINTON was born in Georgetown, Indiana, on October 20, 1890. He received a law degree from Indiana University in 1915, where among his classmates were future Republican Presidential candidate, Wendell L. Willkie, and future Indiana Governor, Paul V. McNutt. Minton received an additional degree from Yale University Law School in 1917 following one year of graduate study. Minton established a law practice in New Albany, Indiana, a town near his birthplace. In 1933, Minton was appointed Public Counselor to the Indiana Public Service Commission. One year later, he ran successfully for the United States Senate and levied one six-year term. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Minton to the White House staff as an administrative assistant in charge of coordinating military agencies. Later that year, President Roosevelt appointed Minton to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, where he served eight years. President Harry S. Truman nominated Minton to the Supreme Court of the United Sates on September 15, 1949. The Senate confirmed the appointment on October 4, 1949. Minton retired from the Supreme Court on October 15, 1956, after seven years of service. He died on April 9, 1965, at the age of seventy-four.