Louis Brandeis

1856-1941

Supreme Court Justice

Louis Brandeis was born on November 13, 1856, in Louisville Kentucky. He graduated high school at the age of 14. He went to Louisville Public College and after traveling and studying with his family to Europe he enrolled at Harvard Law School. He graduated with the highest grades in the history of Harvard Law School a record that held for 80 years. He opened a law office in Boston with a classmate. the first Jew to be appointed to the US Supreme Court (1916). A liberal, he was known as "the people's attorney" and as an opponent of corporate monopoly. He was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Wilson. There was strong opposition to the nomination- of Brandeis, who was the first Jew to be nominated both because he was Jewish and because of his liberal views. For the first time, the Senate had a public hearing. The Senate confirmed his nomination by 47 to 22. While on the bench, Brandeis maintained his liberal posture in contrast to the Court's generally conservative bent. After his retirement in 1939, Brandeis worked for various Zionist causes in support of the establishment of a Jewish homeland.