Thomas Joseph Meskill
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Thomas Joseph Meskill (January 30, 1928 – October 29, 2007) was a longtime judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He previously served as the Governor of Connecticut, as a U.S. Congressman from Connecticut, and as the mayor of New Britain, Connecticut. He is noted as having served in all three branches of government and at the local, state and federal levels of government during his career of public service.
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[edit] Biography
Thomas Joseph Meskill was born on January 30, 1928 in New Britain, Connecticut.[1] His father was politically active.[2] Meskill graduated from New Britain Senior High School in 1946. He then attended Bloomfield's Saint Thomas Seminary then, although his original intention had been to pursue pre-medical studies,[2]. He earned a bachelor of science degree from Trinity College in Hartford in 1950.[3]
After graduation, Meskill enlisted in the United States Air Force and served for three years during the Korean War.[4] He was honorably discharged in 1953 with the rank of first lieutenant.[3]
Meskill studied at the New York University School of Law and the University of Connecticut Law School, where he was editor of the Law Review,[2] earning an J.D. from the latter institution in 1956.[5][1] He was admitted to the bar and began practicing in New Britain in 1956.[3]
Meskill died in Florida on October 29, 2007, at the age of 79 [1].
[edit] Political career
In 1958, Meskill made a failed bid for the Connecticut Senate. The following year, Meskill ran for the first time for the office of mayor of New Britain, Connecticut, but was defeated by 116 votes.[2]
Meskill served for two years as New Britain's assistant corporation counsel starting in 1960. He then won election and served a term as New Britain's mayor from 1962 to 1964. He was defeated for re-election and also failed in an attempt to win a campaign for Congress that same year.[2]
He served as New Britain's corporation counsel from 1965 to 1966. During 1965, Meskill was also a member of a state constitutional convention held in Hartford[3] to draft a new Connecticut State Constitution in accordance with a U.S.Supreme Court ruling.
In 1966, during what was otherwise a Democratic sweep of the state, he was elected on the Republican Party ticket to serve as Congressman for Connecticut's 6th congressional district.[2] He served in the 90th and 91st Congresses, from January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1971.[3]
In 1970, Meskill ran for and was elected Governor of Connecticut; the first Republican elected to the position since John Davis Lodge in 1955. He served from January 6, 1971 to January 8, 1975.[6] He was the only Republican party nominee to win an election for Governor in Connecticut between 1950 and 1994.
During his term as Governor, Connecticut went from a budget deficit of $260 million to a surplus of $65 million. He was also involved in the founding of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and of the Connecticut Lottery.[2] He announced he wouldn't seek a second term following severe criticism of his not returning to the state from a skiing trip during a severe ice storm in December 1973.[7] In his eulogy. Judge Peter Dorsey said in retrospect "the blizzard was the best thing that happened" to Meskill, since it caused him to pursue a judicial career instead of continuing a career seeking elective office [2] Image:Meskill808.jpg
[edit] Judicial career
In August 1974, President Richard M. Nixon, in one of the last acts of his presidency, nominated Meskill to serve as a federal appellate judge for the Second Circuit, comprising Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. The nomination proved controversial and was not acted on by the United States Senate that year. On January 16, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford renominated Meskill to be the 38th judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, succeeding to seat vacated by John Joseph Smith.[1] The nomination was opposed by the American Bar Association, which cited his lack of legal experience.[2] Nonetheless, Meskill's nomination was confirmed on April 22, 1975, and he was commissioned to his seat the next day.
Meskill remained a judge for the rest of his life. He served as the Second Circuit's Chief Judge from 1992 to 1993. Meskill assumed senior status on the court on June 30, 1993, which he retained until his death some 32 years after he took the bench.[1]
Thomas Meskill held memberships in the American Bar Association, the American Judicature Society, the Connecticut Bar Association, and the Florida Bar.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Meskill, Thomas Joseph. Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Zack, Suzanne. "Thomas J. Meskill, Jr. '50— Rising to the top in the world of politics and jurisprudence", Mosaic, Trinity College, 1997-12. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ a b c d e MESKILL, Thomas Joseph, (1928 - ). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Office of History and Preservation, United States Congress. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ Kestenbaum, Lawrence (1998). Index to Politicians: Merriweather to Mestre. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ Biographical information: Thomas J. Meskill. Judges' Bios. US Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
- ^ Governor of Connecticut. NNDB. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ Leadership in Times of Disaster. Connecticut Local Politics (2005-09-04). Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
- ^ Thomas J. Meskill. NNDB. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
| Preceded by Bernard F. Grabowski |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 6th congressional district 1967 - 1971 |
Succeeded by Ella T. Grasso |
| Preceded by John Dempsey |
Governor of Connecticut 1971–1975 |
Succeeded by Ella T. Grasso |
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This article incorporates text obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of Federal Judges compiled by the Federal Judicial Center.
