Warren, Earl

(1891-1974)

   Born in Los Angeles, California, Earl Warren worked on the railroads before going to the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned his B.A. in 1912 and his degree from the law school in 1914. After serving in the army during World War I, Warren held a number of positions, including city attorney, country district attorney, and district attorney, in Almeda County. He was elected district attorney in 1926, 1930, and 1934 and in 1938 became attorney general of California. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was an advocate of the internment of Japanese Americans, a decision he subsequently regretted. A Republican, in 1942 Warren was elected governor of California and was reelected in 1946. He ran as the vice presidential candidate with Thomas E. Dewey in 1948 and was a possible presidential candidate in 1952. When successful candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower won the election, he nominated Warren to replace deceased Chief Justice Fred Vinson on the Supreme Court. It was a choice Eisenhower came to regret as Warren turned out to be one of the most significant figures in court history with the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 declaring segregation in schools unconstitutional. Also significant was the ruling in Miranda v. Arizona in 1966 requiring that police officers read individuals their rights before charging them. Warren chaired the committee that investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The conclusion that the shooting was the result of a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, is still regarded as controversial. Warren retired in 1969.