"William H. Hastie Jr" (November 17,1904-April 14,1976)

Was an American,lawyer,judge,educator,public official,and advocate for the civil rights of African Americans.He was the first African American to serve as Governor of the United States Virgin Islands,as a Federal judge,and as a Federal appellate judge.William was born in Knoxville,Tennessee,the son of William Henry Hastie Sr. and Roberta Child's.His maternal ancestors were of African-American and Native American heritage,and family tradition mentioned that one female ancestor was a Malagasy princess.William graduated first in his class,magna cum laude from Amherst in Massachusetts,then earned a doctorate in juridical studies from Harvard Law School.He then became a professor at Howard University School of Law in Washington,D.C. One of his students there was future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.He also served assistant solicitor for the Department of the Interior,advising the agency on racial issues.In 1937,President Roosevelt appointed William to the United States District Court for the Virgin Islands,making him the first African -American Federal judge.This was a controversial move:Senator William H.King of Utah,the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee called William appointment a "blunder."William served as judge for two years.In 1939,he resigned from the court to become the Dean of the Howard University School of Law,where he had previously taught.During World War 2,William worked as a civilian aide to the Secretary of War Henry Stimson.He vigorously advocated the equal treatment of African American in the Army and their unrestricted use in the war effort.In 1943,He resigned his position in protest against racially segregated training facillties in the Army Air Force,inadequate training for African-American pilots,and the unequal distribution of assignments between whites and non-whites.That same year,he received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP,both for his lifetime achievement and in recognition of this protest action.This was expected to be the end of his government career.But in 1946,President Truman appointed William territorial Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands-the first African American to hold this position.William served as Governor from 1946-1949.In 1949,Truman appointed William to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit-the first African American appellate judge.William served on the Appellate Court for 22 years.As the first and most distinguished African-American on the Federal bench,William was considered as a possible candidate to be the First African American Justice of the Supreme Court.In 1962,President John F. Kennedy considered appointing William to succeed retiring Justice Charles Whittaker.But political calculations preventted Kennedy from making the appointment.On the hand,an African American appointee would have faced fierce opposition in the Senate from Southern such as James Eastland (D-Mississippi),chairman of the Judiciary Committee.On the other hand,on issues other than Civil Rights,William was considered realtively conservative,and Chief Justice Earn Warren reportedly opined that William would be too conservative as a Justice.Kennedy instead appointed Byron White.Kennedy remarked that he expected to make several more appointments to the court in his presidency and that he intended to appoint William to the court at a later date.In 1968,William became Chief Justice Judge of the Third Circuit.In 1971,after only three years,he stepped down as Chief Judge,and also took "senior status."William died while playing golf.in 1976.