Eugene M. Locke

Eugene Murphy Locke (January 6, 1918 – April 28, 1972) was an American lawyer, businessman, politician, and diplomat from Dallas, Texas, who in 1967 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was ambassador to Pakistan in 1966-1967 and deputy ambassador to South Vietnam in 1967-1968 before becoming an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Texas in 1968.

Locke, who was born in Dallas on January 6, 1918, was valedictorian of his class at North Dallas High School, where he graduated in 1934, participating in the January 1934 commencement.

Locke entered the University of Texas with entrance credits from Southern Methodist University, and while at the University of Texas, which he entered in 1934, he was among the highest 2 percent of the roughly 5,000 students in the College of Arts and Sciences during the five semesters prior to February 1937. His academic excellence led to his membership in Phi Beta Kappa at the university.

After graduating from the University of Texas in 1937, Locke entered Yale Law School on Sept. 27, 1937, and he graduated on June 19, 1940. He was a member of the Order of the Coif (designated for the top 10 percent of students in a class).

Among the members of the Phi Delta Phi fraternity at Yale law school posing with Locke for a photo in the spring of 1940 were a future president of the United States (Gerald Ford), two future Supreme Court justices (Potter Stewart and Byron White), a future governor of Pennsylvania (William Scranton), a future U.S. senator from Colorado (Peter Dominick), a future U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of the Army (Cyrus Vance), a future founder of the Peace Corps, Job Corps and Head Start as well as ambassador to France and vice presidential candidate (Sargent Shriver), a future author who wrote A Night to Remember about the sinking of the Titanic (Walter Lord), a future Secretary of the Army (Stanley Resor), and many others of notable accomplishments.

Eugene M. Locke’s legal heritage in Dallas dated back to the law practice of his paternal grandfather, Maurice Eugene Locke, who practiced law for about 11 years under his own name before his son, Eugene Perry Locke, formed a partnership with him in the summer of 1904 with the firm name of Locke & Locke. Over time, the firm names were Maurice E. Locke (1891–1904); Locke & Locke (1904–1926); Locke, Locke, Stroud & Randolph (1926–1939); Locke, Locke, Dyer & Purnell (1939–1945); Locke, Locke & Purnell (1945–1959); Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely (a professional corporation, 1972–1987); Locke Purnell Rain Harrell (1987–1999); Locke Liddell & Sapp (1999–2007); Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell (2007–2011); Locke Lord (name shortened in 2011; name remained Locke Lord despite merger with Edwards Wildman Palmer in 2015).

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