William Henry Hunt (politician)

William Henry Hunt

William Henry Hunt (born November 5, 1857 in New Orleans , Louisiana , †  February 4, 1949 in Charlottesville , Virginia ) was an American lawyer and politician . From 1901 to 1904 he served as the governor of Puerto Rico ; then he became a federal judge .

Career

After studying law and being admitted to the bar, William Hunt practiced as a lawyer in Fort Benton in what was then Montana Territory between 1880 and 1887 . From 1881 to 1885 he was a tax collector there and in the Idaho Territory . In 1884 he took part as a delegate to the constituent assembly of the future state of Montana . From 1885 to 1887 he served as Attorney General in the Montana Territory. After Montana joined the Union, he was a member of the House of Representatives there in 1889 . He then acted between 1889 and 1894 judge in the first judicial district of this state; from 1894 to 1900 he was a judge at the Montana Supreme Court .

In 1900, Hunt was named executive officer of the Territorial Government of Puerto Rico by President William McKinley . He held this office until September 15, 1901. On that day he took over the post of governor of Puerto Rico as successor to Charles Herbert Allen , which he held until July 4, 1904. During this time, Hunt designated Christmas and Thanksgiving as public holidays in his territory.

On April 14, 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt nominated him to succeed Hiram Knowles for a seat in the federal district court for the district of Montana. Five days later he was confirmed by the US Senate , after which he held this office until March 30, 1910. On that day he took over the post of judge at the Federal Customs Court . He only stayed there until January 31, 1911, after President William Howard Taft appointed him a judge on the Federal Court of Appeals for the ninth district. On January 31, 1928, he switched to senior status, before retiring entirely from the federal service on November 30, 1928. Between 1928 and 1942 he practiced as a private lawyer in San Francisco . He died in Charlottesville on February 4, 1949.

Web links

• William Henry Hunt in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges