Hugo L. Black, 1937-1971

HUGO L. BLACK was born in Harlan, Alabama, on February 27, 1886. He entered Birmingham Medical College in 1903, but after one year transferred to the University of Alabama Law School. He received his law degree in 1906. He was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Ashland Alabama. The following year, a fire destroyed his office and library, and Black moved to Birmingham. In 1911, he became a part-time police court judge, and in 1914 he was elected Public Prosecutor for Jefferson County. After military service in World War I, Black returned to his Birmingham law practice. In 1927, he was elected to the United States Senate and was re-elected six years later. In 1933, Black introduced legislation providing for a 30-hour work week which, as amended, became the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Black to the Supreme Court of the United States on August 12, 1937, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on August 17, 1937. Black retired from the Supreme Court on September 17, 1971, after thirty-four years of service. He died on September 25, 1971, at the age of eighty-five.