Curtis, Benjamin Robbins

Born November 4, 1809, in Watertown, MA
Died September 15, 1874, in Newport, RI

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Received a recess appointment from Millard Fillmore on September 22, 1851, to a seat vacated by Levi Woodbury; nominated to the same position by Millard Fillmore on December 11, 1851. Confirmed by the Senate on December 20, 1851, and received commission on December 20, 1851. Service terminated on September 30, 1857, due to resignation.

Supreme Court Oath:
October 10, 1851

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

First Circuit, October 10, 1851-September 30, 1857

Education:
Harvard Law School
Harvard University, A.B., 1829

Professional Career:

Private practice, Northfield, Massachusetts, 1831-1834
Private practice, Boston, Massachusetts, 1834-1851, 1857-1874

Bibliography

Aitken, Robert. “Justice Benjamin Curtis and Dred Scott.” Litigation, vol. 30, no. 1 (Fall, 2003): 51-8.

Curtis, Benjamin Robbins and George Ticknor Curtis. A Memoir of Benjamin Robbins Curtis, LL.D. with some Professional and Miscellaneous Writings. Boston: Little, Brown, 1879.

Leach, Richard H. “Benjamin Robbins Curtis: A Model for a Successful Legal Career.” American Bar Association Journal, vol. 41, no. 3 (Mar. 1955): 225-7.

Maltz, Earl M. “The Last Angry Man: Benjamin Robbins Curtis and the Dred Scott Case.” Chicago-Kent Law Review, vol. 82, no. 1 (2007): 265-77.

________. “The Unlikely Hero of Dred Scott: Benjamin Robbins Curtis and the Constitutional Law of Slavery.” Cardozo Law Review, vol. 17, no. 6 (1996): 1995-2016.

Williams, Frank J. and William D. Bader. “Benjamin R. Curtis: Maverick Lawyer and Independent Jurist.” Roger Williams University Law Review, vol. 17, no. 2 (Spring 2012): 378-92.

Williams Owen, R. “Benjamin Curtis: Top of the List.” Chicago-Kent Law Review, vol. 82, no. 1 (2007): 277-90.

Manuscript Collections

Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Benjamin Robbins Curtis papers, 1831-1879.
4 containers (450 items); finding aid; correspondence and legal papers dealing primarily with judicial matters.

Federal Judicial Center

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Curtis, Benjamin Robbins