Stone, Harlan Fiske, 1872–1946, American jurist, 12th Chief Justice of the United States (1941–46), b. Chesterfield, N.H. A graduate (1898) of Columbia Univ. law school, he was admitted (1899) to the bar, practiced law in New York City, and lectured at the Columbia law school, where he became professor (1902) and dean (1910). He resigned his deanship in 1923 and, as U.S. Attorney General (1924–25) under President Coolidge, helped to restore faith in the Dept. of Justice after the Teapot Dome scandals. Appointed (1925) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, he established a reputation for his vigorous minority opinions, especially those in which he defended the social and economic welfare legislation of the New Deal against the conservative majority. Stone saw many of his minority opinions later accepted as majority decisions. He succeeded Charles Evans Hughes as Chief Justice. Public Control of Business (1940) is a selection of Stone's opinions as Associate Justice.

Bibliography

See biography by A. T. Mason (1956, repr. 1968) and study by S. J. Konefsky (1946, repr. 1971).

Stone, Harlan Fiske

Harlan Fiske Stone, 1929.

(credit: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)

(born Oct. 11, 1872, Chesterfield, N.H., U.S.—died April 22, 1946, Washington, D.C.) U.S. jurist. He studied at Columbia Law School and later practiced law while serving as dean (1910–23). Pres. Calvin Coolidge appointed him U.S. attorney general in 1924; during his tenure he reorganized the Federal Bureau of Investigation after its reputation had been tarnished by the Teapot Dome and other scandals. In 1925 Coolidge appointed him to the Supreme Court of the United States, and in 1941 Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt promoted him to chief justice, a position he retained until his death. He wrote more than 600 opinions, many on important constitutional questions. He was often less successful, however, in building a consensus among his associate justices, with the result that the court during his chief justiceship was often a bitterly divided body.

Stone, Harlan Fiske (1872–1946) Supreme Court justice and chief justice; born in Chesterfield, N.H. He taught (1898–1924) and was dean (1910–24) of Columbia Law School. He briefly served as U.S. attorney general (1924) before President Calvin Coolidge named him associate justice to the U.S. Supreme Court (1924–41). President Franklin Roosevelt promoted him to chief justice (1941–46). His views were generally liberal.