Joseph McKenna | |
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Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
In office January 21, 1898 – January 5, 1925 |
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Nominated by | William McKinley |
Preceded by | Stephen Field |
Succeeded by | Harlan Stone |
42nd United States Attorney General | |
In office March 5, 1897 – January 25, 1898 |
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Appointed by | William McKinley |
Preceded by | Judson Harmon |
Succeeded by | John Griggs |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
In office March 17, 1892 – March 5, 1897 |
|
President | Benjamin Harrison |
Preceded by | Lorenzo Sawyer |
Succeeded by | William Morrow |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 3rd district |
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In office March 4, 1885 – March 28, 1892 |
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Preceded by | Barclay Henley |
Succeeded by | Samuel Hilborn |
Personal details | |
Born |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
August 10, 1843
Died |
November 21, 1926 (aged 83) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Amanda Borneman |
Education |
Saint Joseph's University Benicia Collegiate Institute |
Joseph McKenna (August 10, 1843 – November 21, 1926) was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. He is one of seventeen members of the House of Representatives who subsequently served on the Supreme Court (including two Chief Justices).
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish Catholic immigrants, he attended St. Joseph's College and the Collegiate Institute at Benicia, California. After being admitted to the California bar in 1865, he became District Attorney for Solano County and then campaigned for and won a seat in the California State Assembly for two years (1875–1877). He retired after one term and an unsuccessful bid for Speaker of the House.
After two unsuccessful attempts, McKenna was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1885 and served for four terms. He was appointed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1892 by President Benjamin Harrison.
In 1897 he was appointed the 42nd Attorney General of the United States by President William McKinley, and served in that capacity until 1898. He was then appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed Justice Stephen J. Field. McKenna was named by President McKinley on January 28, 1898 and took his seat the next day. Conscious of his limited credentials, McKenna took courses at Columbia Law School for several months to improve his legal education before taking his seat on the Court.