orig. William Francis Murphy
born April 13, 1890, Harbor Beach, Mich., U.S.
died July 19, 1949, Detroit, Mich.
U.S. Supreme Court justice (1940–49).
After serving in World War I, he held several elective posts, including mayor of Detroit (1930–33). He was governor-general (1933–35) and U.S. high commissioner (1935–36) of the Philippines. Elected governor of Michigan (1937–38), he refused to use troops to break sit-down strikes by automobile workers. As U.S. attorney general (1939–40), he established the Justice Department's civil rights unit. Appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, he strongly defended civil rights and dissented in a case upholding the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Frank Murphy
By courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.