Peter J. Hamilton

Peter Joseph Hamilton (March 19, 1859–July 13, 1927) was an Alabama lawyer and historian who also served as Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico from 1913 to 1921.

Hamilton was born in Mobile, Alabama. He studied at Princeton University and the University of Leipzig before obtaining advanced law degrees at the University of Alabama. Hamilton's books during his Alabama years included Colonial Mobile: An Historical Study (1897), Early Southern Institutions (1898), The Colonization of the South (1904), The Reconstruction Period (1910), and Mobile of the Five Flags (1913). He also practiced law and was involved in codifying the city ordinances of Mobile.

Hamilton, a Democrat, was appointed as the federal judge for Puerto Rico in 1913 by President Woodrow Wilson, who was his classmate at Princeton University. (Hamilton actually was first nominated by outgoing President William Howard Taft, but it appears that this was a courtesy nomination on Wilson's behalf.)

Hamilton served two four-year terms as District Judge in Puerto Rico, obtaining reappointment from President Wilson in 1917. Throughout his tenure, Hamilton was a strong proponent of bringing Puerto Rico under greater influence by the United States, and supported increased use of the English language in Puerto Rico. At one point, questions were raised concerning Hamilton's personal finances and any effect they might be having on his judicial service. The matter was the subject of an investigation by the Justice Department, but the allegations were not sustained.

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