# Fred M. Vinson *American jurist and politician; 13th chief justice of the United States (1946–1953)* Frederick Moore Vinson (January 22, 1890 – September 8, 1953), known as Fred, was a Kentucky lawyer and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] politician. He was chief justice of the United States from 1946 until his death in 1953, the thirteenth person to hold that office.[^1] Before joining the Supreme Court, he served as a U.S. representative from Kentucky, as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and as secretary of the treasury. That record placed him among the small number of Americans who have held posts in the legislative, judicial and executive branches.[^1] President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Vinson to the appellate bench in 1937. President Harry S. Truman, whom Vinson had befriended in Congress, appointed him to the Treasury in 1945 and to the chief justiceship in 1946.[^1] No later chief justice has been nominated by a Democratic president, and no later Kentuckian has been appointed to the Supreme Court.[^1] ## Early years Vinson was born in Louisa, Kentucky, in a house in front of the Lawrence County jail, where his father was county jailer. He finished Kentucky Normal School in 1909 and then earned a Bachelor of Arts at Centre College, graduating first in his class. He took a Bachelor of Laws from the College of Law, which no longer exists, and opened a practice in Louisa. His first elected office was city attorney of Louisa.[^1] The Army rejected Vinson twice as underweight during World War I before accepting him in August 1918. He trained at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky, and was attending officer training school at Camp Pike, Arkansas, when the armistice of November 11, 1918, ended the war. After his service, voters elected him Commonwealth's Attorney for the Thirty-Second Judicial District of Kentucky. He married Julia Roberta Dixon in Ashland, Kentucky, on January 24, 1924; the couple had two sons.[^1] ## United States Representative from Kentucky William J. Fields resigned his House seat in 1924 to become governor of Kentucky. Vinson won the special election that followed, running as a Democrat, and was returned twice more before his 1928 defeat. His loss has been attributed to his refusal to separate his campaign from Alfred E. Smith's presidential bid.[^1] In 1930 Vinson moved his law practice from Louisa to Ashland and won the seat back that year. He then remained in the House through 1937 and supported the New Deal program of Roosevelt's administration.[^1] In Congress, Vinson formed a lifelong friendship with Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman and became one of his advisers. In the early 1950s, after deciding not to seek another term, Truman urged Vinson to pursue the Democratic presidential nomination. Vinson declined.[^1] ## United States Court of Appeals Roosevelt nominated Vinson on November 26, 1937, to the associate justice seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia left vacant by Charles Henry Robb. That court is now the D.C. Circuit.[^1] The [[United States Senate]] confirmed him on December 9, 1937, and he received his [[Commission|commission]] six days later. Chief Justice [[Harlan F. Stone]] designated him chief judge of the Emergency Court of Appeals. Vinson's judicial service ended when he resigned on May 28, 1943.[^1] ## Secretary of the Treasury On leaving the bench, Vinson became director of the Office of Economic Stabilization, an executive agency responsible for fighting inflation. He was later Federal Loan Administrator from March 6 to April 3, 1945, and director of War Mobilization and Reconversion from April 4 to July 22, 1945.[^1] Truman then named him secretary of the treasury. He held that post from July 23, 1945, to June 23, 1946.[^1] At the Treasury, Vinson ran the war's last major war bond drive. After the war, he negotiated payment of the British Loan of 1940. At $3.75 billion, it was the largest loan the United States had made to another country. He also negotiated the lend-lease settlements.[^1] He promoted a tax cut in the Revenue Act of 1945. He also oversaw the launch of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund, both created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, and served as the first chairman of each board.[^1] ## Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone died in 1946. Truman nominated Vinson to succeed him as chief justice on June 6, 1946.[^1] Former chief justice [[Charles Evans Hughes]] and former associate justice [[Owen Roberts]] had recommended Vinson, both pointing to his service in all three branches. The Senate confirmed him by voice vote on June 20, 1946. He received his commission on June 21 and took the oath on June 24.[^1] When Vinson arrived, the court was divided into one faction led by [[Hugo Black]] and another led by [[Felix Frankfurter]]. He is credited with easing that division, at least at the personal level.[^1] He presided over the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges from 1946 to 1948 and over its successor, the Judicial Conference of the United States, from 1948 to 1953. He was circuit justice for the Fourth Circuit and the District of Columbia Circuit from June 26, 1946, until his death.[^1] Over his tenure, Vinson wrote 77 opinions for the court and 13 dissents. On June 3, 1952, the court decided *Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer*, holding invalid Truman's seizure of the steel industry during a strike. Vinson dissented.[^1] He also ordered a rehearing in *Briggs v. Elliott*. That case was later consolidated into *Brown v. Board of Education*.[^1] ## Death and legacy Vinson died of a heart attack at his home in Washington on September 8, 1953. He was buried in Pinehill Cemetery in Louisa, Kentucky.[^1] His personal and judicial papers are held at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and are open to researchers. The Fred M. Vinson Birthplace in Louisa is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 1967, members of the Phi Delta Theta chapter at Centre College have carried his portrait to athletic and other events.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Fred M. Vinson* (revision 1379124218, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Vinson's birth, education, military service, congressional, judicial, executive and Supreme Court service, nomination, confirmation and commission dates, opinion counts, death and burial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_M._Vinson