Rivers H. Buford

Rivers Henderson Buford (January 18, 1878 - March 17, 1959) was a Justice of the Florida Supreme Court from 1925 to 1948.

Born in Pulaski, Tennessee, Buford moved to Wewahitchka, Florida as a child. He never received a college degree, but read law in the office of a Tallahassee lawyer to be admitted to the bar in 1900.

Buford was Florida Attorney General from 1921 to 1925, and then served on the Florida Supreme Court from December 4, 1925 to April 3, 1948. He was twice Chief Justice, from March 5, 1931 to January 10, 1933, and again from January 1943 to January 9, 1945. He was described as "one of the most colorful" justices of his century, and "praised as one of the Court's finest minds". He was reportedly "widely admired for his skill as a public speaker", with one account claiming that he prevented a mob of thousands of people from carrying out a lynching in Marianna, Florida in the fall of 1934, with nothing more than oratory delivered from the Jackson County Courthouse steps.

Buford died in Tallahassee, Florida. He had one child, Rivers H. Buford, Jr. (June 14, 1927 - January 3, 2016).

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