John R. Brady (1821 - March 16, 1891)[1] was an American judge, a Justice of the New York Supreme Court, and best known for administering the presidential oath of office to Chester A. Arthur. Brady was born in New York City, and was a New York Supreme Court Justice from 1873 until his death.[2]
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President James A. Garfield died over two months after he was shot by an assassin, Charles Guiteau. Arthur, then Vice President, became his successor. Brady swore in Arthur in Arthur's private apartment at 123 Lexington Avenue in New York City in the early hours of September 20, 1881. Arthur was, however, inaugurated again two days later (September 22) publicly on Capitol Hill by Chief Justice of the United States Morrison R. Waite.
A three-quarter length seated portrait of Brady was painted in 1889 by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862–1947). The New York Tribune, March 13, 1889 commented on this picture that '...The oil painting is an admirable work of art and a striking likeness of the original.' The Rev. Dr. Thomas J. Ducey, of St. Leo’s Roman Catholic Church, apparently presented the portrait to the American Bar Association.