Burton, Harold Hitz

(1888-1964)

   Born in Massachusetts, Harold Burton graduated from Bowdoin College in 1909 and Harvard Law School in 1912. He established a practice in Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1914 went to Salt Lake City, Utah, to work for the Utah Power and Light Company. In 1917, he joined the infantry, and after the war he returned to Cleveland, where he established his own law firm in 1925. In 1927, Burton was elected to the East Cleveland Board of Education, and in 1928, as a Republican in the Ohio House of Representatives. From 1929 until 1932, Burton was Cleveland’s director of law. He returned to his private practice in 1932 but was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1935. In 1940 he was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1945, President Harry S. Truman appointed him to succeed Justice Owen Roberts on the Supreme Court. Burton served until 1958, taking a generally centrist position and supporting the federal government in most areas except the extension of powers in commercial fields. After he retired, he served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., until 1962.