ROBERT H. JACKSON was born on February 13, 1892, in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania, and raised in Frewsburg, New York. After a year (1909-1910) of post-graduate study at Jamestown High School in Jamestown, New York, he served a year (1910-1911) as an apprentice in a Jamestown law office. In 1912, he completed a one-year course of study at Albany Law School and then, the following year, resumed his law apprenticeship in Jamestown. Jackson, who never attended college, became a lawyer in 1913. He then practiced law for twenty years in Jamestown and throughout western New York State. In 1934, Jackson moved to Washington, D.C., to become Assistant General Counsel in the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Internal Revenue. From 1936 to 1941, Jackson served successively as Assistant United States Attorney General, Solicitor General, and Attorney General of the United States. In the latter position, he advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the legal aspects of providing destroyers to Great Britain in exchange for military bases on British territory. President Roosevelt nominated Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States on June 12, 1941. The Senate confirmed the appointment on July 7, 1941. While on the Court, Jackson was appointed Chief United States Prosecutor at the International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. Jackson served on the Supreme Court for thirteen years. He died on October 9, 1954, at the age of sixty-two.
Members support the Society’s efforts to increase awareness of the Court’s contributions to our nation’s constitutional heritage. Benefits include: Court history publications, special event invitations, discounts.
SCHS sponsored events cover Supreme Court history themes, from early landmark figures and cases such as McCullough, to civics, labor, women’s rights, immigration, Constitutional controversies.
Documentaries covering landmark points on the timeline of Supreme Court history, including: FDR’s court packing controversy, the contested 1876 election + John Marshall & Marbury v. Madison.
Visit the Supreme Court Historical Society’s CIVICS website to learn about the history and cases of the Supreme Court of the United States and gain insights into key figures associated with the Court.
A timeline of Supreme Court history, including the Marshall and Warren Courts + landmark cases: West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, and significant rulings in women’s rights court cases.