“Open House” planned for Jan. 22 in honor of Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson birthday

In honor of Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson’s 135th  birthday, the Fred M. Vinson Museum and Welcome Center will have an “Open House” on Wednesday, Jan. 22, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Light refreshments will be served during the day.

Vinson was born on Jan. 22, 1890, in Louisa, in a house  located in front of the Lawrence County Jail, where his father was jailer, that now houses the museum. Graduating from Kentucky Normal School in 1909, he graduated from Centre College in 1909 with a law degree in 1911. He then entered a private practice in Louisa.

He enlisted in the United States Army during the First World War. After the war, he became the Commonwealth Attorney for the 32nd Judicial District of Kentucky in the 1920’s, he then joined the U.S. House of Representatives in January 1924 to fill a vacancy. He would win two more Congressional elections before losing in 1928. However, Vinson returned to the House in 1931 and stayed there for several more years.

At the end of 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Vinson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He held that position until 1943, when he resigned to become the Director of the Office of Economic Stabilization during the Second World War. In the summer of 1945, Vinson became U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in the cabinet of President Harry Truman.

On June 6, 1946, President Truman nominated Vinson to the Chief Justice seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, he was confirmed on June 20 and received his commission on June 21. His service was terminated on Sept. 8, 1953, due to his death in Washington, D.C., he was 63 years old.

His funeral service was held in Louisa. He is buried in the Pinehill Cemetery.