William Francis Murphy

(April 13,1890 – July 19, 1949)

Born in Harbor Beach, Michigan, Murphy graduated from State University in 1914 and pursued 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. Opening a private law office in Detroit he rapidly rose to the post of Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and Judge in the Detroit Recorder's Court. In 1930 he was elected Democrat mayor of Detroit  A supporter of the New Deal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him Governor-General, and later, United States High Commissioner of the Philippines. He became Governor of Michigan in 1937 and US Attorney General in 1939 where he established the first department of civil rights. In 1940, Roosevelt nominated him Associate Justice of the Supreme Court where he was a strong voice for protection of individual rights.

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