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Robert Houghwout JacksonAmerican politician, attorney general and attorney general
Date of Birth: 13.02.1892
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Robert H. Jackson: A Distinguished Legal Career
- Legal Practice
- Government Service
- Supreme Court Justice and Nuremberg Prosecutor
- Legacy
Robert H. Jackson: A Distinguished Legal Career
Early Life and EducationRobert Houghwout Jackson was born in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Frewsburg, New York. After completing high school in 1909, he briefly attended another school in Jamestown. Instead of pursuing higher education, Jackson began working at a law firm in Jamestown at age 18.
Legal Practice
Jackson spent a year studying law in Albany before returning to Jamestown. He passed the New York bar exam in 1913 and established his own practice. Over the next two decades, he became a successful and well-known lawyer in New York, gaining national recognition.
Government Service
In 1934, Jackson was appointed to a federal position in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration. He served as a solicitor in the Treasury Department, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Tax Division, and an assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Division. In 1938, he became Attorney General, a position he held until January 1940.
Supreme Court Justice and Nuremberg Prosecutor
Jackson was a Democratic candidate for President Roosevelt's successor. In 1941, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States, where he served until 1954. In 1945, President Truman appointed him as one of the chief prosecutors at the Nuremberg Trials. Jackson was instrumental in establishing the legal framework for the trials and played a pivotal role as the lead U.S. prosecutor.
Legacy
Jackson died in Washington, D.C., at age 62. His funeral was held at the National Cathedral in Washington and at St. Luke's Church in Jamestown. He was buried in Frewsburg, New York, near where he had spent his childhood.
Jackson's legacy as a prosecutor and Supreme Court Justice remains significant. His opening and closing statements at Nuremberg are considered among the finest legal orations of the 20th century. A collection of his personal and professional papers is available for research at the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.
