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Charles HuzAmerican statesman who served as Governor of New York and US Secretary of State.
Country:
 USA |
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Biography of Charles Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes was an American statesman who served as the Governor of New York and as the Secretary of State of the United States. He was born in Glen Falls, New York. His father was a Methodist preacher from Wales who became a Baptist after moving to the US. In 1874, the family moved to New York. Hughes completed high school at the age of 13 and attended Colgate University (formerly Madison University), where he joined the Delta Epsilon fraternity. After two years, he transferred to Brown University and graduated in 1881 at the age of 19, being the youngest student in his class and ranking third academically.
Early Career and Family
After graduation, Hughes taught Greek, Latin, and algebra at Delaware Academy in Delhi, New York for a year to earn money for law school at Columbia University. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1884. In 1888, he married Antoinette Carter, the daughter of a senior partner in the law firm where he worked. They had a son and two daughters, one of whom, Elizabeth Hughes Gossett, later became the chairwoman of the Supreme Court Historical Society. In 1891, Hughes left his legal practice to become a professor at Columbia Law School, but returned to his firm in 1893.
Political Career
In 1905, Hughes was appointed as a lawyer for the New York State Legislative Commission investigating gas and electric utility rates. His efforts to eliminate corruption led to a reduction in gas prices in New York. He was then appointed to investigate the insurance industry in New York. He was nominated as the Republican Party candidate for Governor of New York and won against William Randolph Hearst, serving as governor from 1907 to 1910. In 1908, he was offered the opportunity to run as the vice-presidential candidate alongside William Taft, but he declined to remain as governor. During his tenure, Hughes successfully passed legislation that increased the power of the governor and removed many corrupt officials from office. He was known as a supporter of strong executive authority.
Later Career
In 1910, Hughes was appointed as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In 1916, he resigned to run for President of the United States but lost to Democrat Woodrow Wilson by a narrow margin. He then returned to his legal practice at his old firm, Hughes, Rounds, Schurman & Dwight (now known as Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP). From 1921 to 1925, he served as the Secretary of State of the United States. During his tenure, he convened the Washington Naval Conference and signed the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited naval armaments. From 1928 to 1930, he served as a judge on the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. In 1930, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by President Herbert Hoover. He served in this position until 1941, presiding over many important cases. He opposed President Franklin Roosevelt's attempts to reshape the Supreme Court to be more loyal to the president.
