Fathers and sons have served on Supreme Court

Father’s Day is this Sunday. If you didn’t know that, hurry up and make your dad a card.

With dads on our minds and with the recent launch of our new justices’ biography web site, did you know that several fathers and sons have served as Justices on the Supreme Court? In fact, two sons succeeded their fathers on the Court.

Justice Edward Matthias died on Nov. 2, 1953. His son, John, defeated his father’s successor in the 1954 election for his father’s seat and was sworn in Dec. 16, 1954. The terms for Justices Paul and Thomas M. Herbert were even closer in time. Justice Paul Herbert could not run for re-election in 1968 and his term ended Dec. 31 that year. His son, Justice Thomas M. Herbert, began his term on the Court the very next day on Jan. 1, 1969.

The two other father-son combinations to serve on the Court were: Luther (father) and Robert H. Day and J. Foster (father) and Robert N. Wilkin. Each served in the early 1900s except for Luther Day, who served in the late 1800s.

To read their bios as well as other Justices’ bios, visit:
http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/SCO/formerjustices/default.asp.