Fred M. Vinson

Frederick "Fred" Moore Vinson (January 22, 1890 – September 8, 1953) was an American politician who served the United States in all three branches of government and was the most prominent member of the Vinson political family. In the legislative branch, he was an elected member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisa, Kentucky, for twelve years. In the executive branch, he was the Secretary of Treasury under President Harry S. Truman. In the judicial branch, in 1946 President Truman appointed Vinson the 13th Chief Justice of the United States. As of 2015, he is the last candidate nominated by a president from the Democratic Party to be confirmed as Chief Justice (Lyndon Johnson unsuccessfully nominated Abe Fortas as Chief Justice in 1968, but Fortas later withdrew his name from consideration).

Early years

Frederick Vinson, known universally as "Fred", was born in the newly built, eight-room, red brick house in front of the Lawrence County jail, Louisa, Kentucky, where his father served as the Lawrence County Jailer. As a child he would help his father in the jail and even made friends with prisoners who would remember his kindness when he later ran for public office. Vinson worked odd jobs while in school. He graduated from Kentucky Normal School in 1908 and enrolled at Centre College, where he graduated at the top of his class. While at Centre, he was a member of the Kentucky Alpha Delta chapter of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He became a lawyer in Louisa, a small town of 2,500 residents. He first ran for, and was elected to, office as the City Attorney of Louisa.