Vinson, Frederick Moore

Born January 22, 1890, in Louisa, KY
Died September 8, 1953, in Washington, DC

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (now U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit)
Nominated by Franklin D. Roosevelt on November 26, 1937, to a seat vacated by Charles H. Robb. Confirmed by the Senate on December 9, 1937, and received commission on December 15, 1937. Service terminated on May 28, 1943, due to resignation.

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Nominated by Harry S Truman on June 6, 1946, to a seat vacated by Harlan Fiske Stone. Confirmed by the Senate on June 20, 1946, and received commission on June 21, 1946. Service terminated on September 8, 1953, due to death.

Other Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, Emergency Court of Appeals, 1942-1943; chief judge, 1942-1943

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

Fourth Circuit, June 26, 1946-September 8, 1953
District of Columbia Circuit, June 26, 1946-September 8, 1953

Education:
Centre College, B.A., 1909
College of Law of Central University, LL.B., 1911

Professional Career:

Private practice, Louisa, Kentucky, 1911-1917, 1919-1924
City attorney, Louisa, Kentucky, 1913
U.S. Army private and officer trainee, 1917-1919
Commonwealth attorney, Thirty-Second Judicial District, Kentucky, 1921-1924
U.S. representative from Kentucky, 1923-1929, 1931-1938
Private practice, Ashland, Kentucky, 1929-1931
Director, Office of Economic Stabilization, 1943-1945
Administrator, Federal Loan Administration, 1945
Director, Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, 1945
Secretary of the Treasury, 1945-1946
Presiding officer, Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, 1946-1948, and Judicial Conference of the United States, 1948-1953

Bibliography

Anderson, James A, III. The Judge: Fred Vinson, Legislator, Executive, Jurist. Louisville: Sulgrave Press, 1999.

Bernstein, Barton J. “Charting a Course between Inflation and Depression: Secretary of the Treasury Fred Vinson and the Truman Administration’s Tax Bill.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 66, no. 1 (Jan. 1968): 53-64.

Bolner, James. “Fred M. Vinson: 1890-1938, The Years of Relative Obscurity.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 63, no. 1 (Jan. 1965): 3-16.

________. “Mr. Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson and Racial Discrimination.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 64, no. 1 (Jan. 1966): 29-43.

Frank, John P. “Fred Vinson and the Chief Justiceship.” University of Chicago Law Review, vol. 21, no. 2 (Winter 1954): 212-46.

Grant, Philip A., Jr. “Press Reaction to the Appointment of Fred M. Vinson as Chief Justice of the United States.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 75, no. 4 (Oct. 1977): 304-13.

Hatcher, John Henry. “Fred Vinson: Boyhood and Education in the Big Sandy Valley.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 72, no. 3 (July, 1974): 243-61.

________. “Fred Vinson: Horses and the Air Corps.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 71, no. 2 (Apr. 1973): 139-53.

Larson, C.F.W. “What if Chief Justice Fred Vinson had not Died of a Heart Attack in 1953?: Implications for Brown and Beyond.” Indiana Law Review, vol. 45, no. 1 (2011): 131-58.

Lefberg, Irving F. “Chief Justice Vinson and the Politics of Desegregation.” Emory Law Review, vol. 24, no. 2 (Spring 1975): 243-312.

Parker, John J. “Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson: Meeting the Challenge to Law and Order.” American Bar Association Journal, vol. 41, no. 4 (Apr. 1955): 324-6.

St. Clair, James E. and Linda C. Gugin. Chief Justice Fred Vinson of Kentucky: A Political Biography. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2002.

Manuscript Collections

University of Kentucky
Lexington, Ky.
Frederick M. Vinson papers, 1907-1953.
189 cubic ft. (302,462 items); finding aid; collection contains correspondence, court decisions, agency reports, government documents, press releases, executive orders, and miscellaneous material related to Vinson's government service.

Oral History

Fred Vinson Audio Collection, 1907-1953; 0.5 cu. ft. (1 Box): 2 items. The collection is comprised of two 1/4" reel to reel audio tapes. These tapes include Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson Day at Louisa, Kentucky, where Supreme Court Justice Stanley Reed and other officials speak and an interview with Edward Pritchard, Jr., by Richard C. Hedland as part of the Fred M. Vinson Oral History Project. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.

Federal Judicial Center

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Vinson, Frederick Moore