ARTHUR J. GOLDBERG was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 8, 1908. He was graduated from Northwestern University in 1929 and received his law degree in 1930. Goldberg was admitted to the bar and joined a law firm in which he specialized in labor law. He first gained national recognition by representing the Chicago Newspaper Guild in a 1938 strike. Goldberg served as Chief of the Labor Division of the Office of Strategic Services in Europe during World War II. After the war, Goldberg returned to his practice and became counsel to both the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the United Steelworkers of America. He played a major role in the merger of the two largest national labor organizations in 1955. President John F. Kennedy appointed Goldberg Secretary of Labor in 1961. The following year, on August 29, 1962, President Kennedy nominated Goldberg to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on September 25, 1962. Goldberg had been on the Supreme Court for three years when, in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Goldberg resigned from the Supreme Court on July 25, 1965. Goldberg retired from his ambassadorship in 1968 and returned to private practice. He died on January 19, 1990, at the age of eighty-one.
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.