ANC masthead: Flag Fading into tree image
Arlington National Cemetery
BUTTON: ANC home BUTTON: Visitor Information BUTTON: Funeral information BUTTON: Ceremonies BUTTON: Historical Information BUTTON: Photo Gallery Button: Contact Us
| click here for the text only version of this page |

 

Historical Information

Biography of Hugo Lafayette Black
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

 

Born: Feb. 27, 1886, Harlan, Ala.
Educated: Birmingham Medical College, 1903 to 1904; University of Alabama, LL.B. 1906
Married: Josephine Foster, Feb. 1921, died 1952 Elizabeth Seay, Sept. 11, 1957
Nominated: Aug. 12, 1937, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Commissioned: Aug. 18, 1937
Dates of Service: Aug.19, 1937 to Sept. 17, 1971
Died: Sept. 25, 1971, Bethesda, Md.

Hugo Black served as a police judge and country solicitor in Birmingham, Ala., before entering the private practice of law in 1919. Elected to the Senate in 1927, he remained for two terms. During his 12 years in the senate, Senator Black introduced a bill which later became the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated the senator as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. During his years on the court, Black always carried a copy of the United States Constitution in his pocket.

Return to Historical Information main page