Edward T. Sanford, 1923-1930

EDWARD T. SANFORD was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on July 23, 1865. He was graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1883 and earned three degrees from Harvard University. Sanford then studied foreign languages and economics in France and Germany for one year. Sanford returned to Knoxville where he established a law practice. He was active in many educational, professional, and charitable organizations and also lectured in law at the University of Tennessee from 1898 to 1907. In 1906, Sanford became a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, with responsibility for prosecuting violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. One year later, he was appointed an Assistant Attorney General of the United States. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Sanford to the United States District Court for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee, where he served for fifteen years. President Warren G. Harding nominated Sanford to the Supreme Court of the United States on January 24, 1923, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on January 29, 1923. Sanford served on the Supreme Court for seven years. He died on March 8, 1930, at the age of sixty-four.