Ronald Davies | |
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Judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota | |
In office August 16, 1955 – 1985 |
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Nominated by | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Personal details | |
Born |
Crookston, Polk County Minnesota, USA |
December 11, 1904
Died | April 18, 1996 Fargo, North Dakota |
(aged 91)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Mildred M. Doran Davies (married 1933) |
Children | Five children |
Alma mater | Georgetown University Law Center |
Profession | Attorney |
Military service | |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Judge Davies was temporarily assigned to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas where he presided over the Little Rock Integration Crisis in the fall of 1957. |
Ronald Norwood Davies (December 11, 1904 – April 18, 1996) was a federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota (July 22, 1955 – 1996). He is best known for his role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis in the fall of 1957. Davies ordered the desegregation of the previously all-white Little Rock Central High.
Davies was born on December 11, 1904, in Crookston in Polk County in northwestern Minnesota. In 1927, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Liberal Arts at the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, North Dakota. In 1930, he attained a law degree from Georgetown University Law School in Washington, D.C.
He practiced law in Grand Forks for several years, before becoming a judge at the Grand Forks Municipal Court from 1932-1940. In 1940, Davies and a fellow Grand Forks attorney, Charles F. Peterson, formed a private law practice. During World War II, Davies served as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army. After the war, Davies went back to his private practice.
On June 21, 1955, Davies was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, based in Fargo, vacated by Charles J. Vogel. Davies was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 22, 1955, and received his commission on July 27, 1955.