Burton, Harold Hitz

Burton, Harold Hitz, 1888–1964, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1945–58), b. Jamaica Plain (now part of Boston), Mass. Admitted to the bar in 1912, he built a prosperous law practice in Cleveland and taught law (1923–25) at Western Reserve Univ. (now Case Western Reserve Univ.). He later served as a representative (1929–31) in the Ohio state assembly and as a reform mayor (1935–40) of Cleveland. As U.S. Senator (1941–45), Burton vigorously pressed for U.S. participation in the United Nations. Appointed by President Harry S. Truman to the Supreme Court, he firmly supported the decisions overturning racial segregation in schools and public transportation.