Harry Walker Wellford (born August 1924) is a former federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
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Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Wellford earned a bachelor's degree in 1947 from Washington and Lee University and a law degree in 1950 from Vanderbilt University Law School.[1]
Wellford served in the United States Navy as an ensign from 1944 until 1946, and he worked in private legal practice in Memphis from 1950 until 1970.[2]
On November 24, 1970, President Richard Nixon nominated Wellford to a newly created seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Wellford was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 11, 1970.[3]
On August 4, 1976, President Gerald Ford nominated Wellford to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to replace William Ernest Miller, who had died on April 12, 1976. Civil rights groups objected to Wellford's nomination. And with the nomination coming so late in Ford's presidency, the United States Senate never took a vote on Wellford's nomination before Ford left office. President Jimmy Carter declined to renominate Wellford when he took office, appointing Gilbert S. Merritt, Jr. instead.
On July 27, 1982, President Ronald Reagan nominated Wellford to a different seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to replace Bailey Brown, who had taken senior status. The United States Senate confirmed Wellford on August 20, 1982.
Wellford took senior status on January 15, 1991.