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  Murphy, Frank
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationDemocratic  
 
NameFrank Murphy
Address
Detroit, Michigan , United States
EmailNone
WebsiteNone
Born April 13, 1890
DiedJuly 19, 1949 (59 years)
Contributor...
Last ModifedRBH
Dec 06, 2015 06:16pm
Tags Single - Catholic - Disputed -
InfoFrancis William Murphy

William Francis (Frank) Murphy (April 13, 1890–July 19, 1949) was an American politician and jurist. He served as Mayor of Detroit, Governor of Michigan, the last Governor-General of the Philippines and the first High Commissioner of the Philippines, United States Attorney General, and United States Supreme Court Justice.

He was born in Harbor Beach, Michigan. He had two brothers and a sister. His father was a lawyer, and Frank followed in his footsteps. He majored in Law at the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 1914. He did graduate work in law at Lincoln's Inn in London and Trinity College, Dublin.

He served as an officer in the U.S. Army during World War I. He obtained the rank of Captain with the Occupation Army in Germany. He left the service in 1919.

After leaving the Army, he opened a private law office in Detroit. He soon became the chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. He served as a Judge in the Detroit Recorder's Court from 1923 to 1930.

In 1930 he was elected mayor of Detroit, running as a Democrat. He served here from 1930 to 1933. During the deepest part of the Great Depression, he fought to help the unemployed. He was a supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. Roosevelt repaid him by appointing him as the Governor-General of the Philippines in 1933. When this position was abolished in 1935, he stayed on as the United States High Commissioner until 1936.

He was elected Governor of Michigan in 1937. President Roosevelt appointed Murphy as his Attorney General in 1939. In 1940, Roosevelt nominated him to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. On the Court, Murphy was an eloquent voice for protection of individual rights. He dissented in the infamous case of Korematsu v. United States (1944), charging that by upholding the forced relocation of Japanese-Americans the Court was sinking into "the ugly abyss of racism."

He died of a heart attack in his sleep at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. He is buried at Our Lady of Lake Huron Cemetery in Harbor Beach, Michigan. He never married. Edward G. Kemp, also a life-long bachelor, was his close friend, aide, law partner, and companion. The Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, named for him, was formerly home to Detroit's Recorder's Court and now houses part of Michigan's Third Judicial Circuit Court.

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Importance? 9.20000 Average

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INFORMATION LINKS
RACES
  07/21/1944 US Vice President - D Convention Lost 0.11% (-54.07%)
  07/01/1940 US President - D Primaries Lost 0.00% (-72.16%)
  01/16/1940 Supreme Court - Associate Justice Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  01/02/1939 US Attorney General Won 91.76% (+83.53%)
  11/08/1938 MI Governor Lost 46.96% (-5.82%)
  11/03/1936 MI Governor Won 51.02% (+2.80%)
  09/15/1936 MI Governor - D Primary Won 68.12% (+36.25%)
  11/15/1935 Philippines High Commissioner Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  07/15/1933 Philippines Governor General Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/03/1931 Mayor of Detroit Won 64.53% (+29.06%)
  09/09/1930 Mayor of Detroit Won 34.23% (+4.06%)
  11/02/1920 MI District 1 Lost 17.83% (-62.45%)
ENDORSEMENTS