# Harold H. Burton *American lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Cleveland, U.S. senator from Ohio, and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States* Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964), a lawyer and politician, was the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, a U.S. senator from Ohio, and an associate justice of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]].[^1] He was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]. Before becoming mayor, he served on the East Cleveland Board of Education and in the Ohio House of Representatives. He won election to the [[United States Senate]] in 1940.[^2] After Owen J. Roberts left the Court, President Harry S. Truman nominated Burton to succeed him. The Senate confirmed the nomination unanimously, and Burton took the oath on October 1, 1945.[^3] He sat on the Court until 1958, when [[Potter Stewart]] succeeded him.[^1] He wrote the majority opinions in *Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath* (1951) and *Lorain Journal Co. v. United States* (1951), and he helped shape the Court's unanimous ruling in *Brown v. Board of Education* (1954).[^1] Biographer Eric W. Rise describes Burton as a justice who favored judicial restraint and who decided most cases on narrow procedural grounds rather than constitutional ones.[^4] He is also described as an affable colleague who helped reduce tension on the Court during a sharply acrimonious period.[^1] ## Early life Burton was born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. He was the second of the sons of Alfred Edgar Burton and Anna Gertrude (Hitz) Burton.[^5] Alfred Burton was an engineer who had taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and had accompanied Robert Peary on several expeditions to the North Pole. He was MIT's first Dean of Student Affairs, from 1902 to 1921.[^5] After Burton's mother died, his father married Lena Yates in 1906. Yates was an English poet and artist who later took the name Jeanne D'Orge.[^5] Through their mothers, Burton and his elder brother Felix, later an architect, were second cousins of J. Edgar Hoover.[^5] At Bowdoin College, Burton played quarterback, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated summa cum laude. His roommate and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity brother there was Owen Brewster, later a U.S. senator from Maine.[^5] Burton completed Harvard Law School in 1912.[^5] ## Marriage and family In 1912 Burton wed Selma Florence Smith. The couple had four children: Barbara, William, Deborah and Robert.[^6] William served aboard the USS *Samuel B. Roberts* during World War II and later in the Ohio House of Representatives.[^6] ## Early career The couple settled in Cleveland, where Burton opened a law practice. In 1914 he moved to Salt Lake City to work alongside his wife's uncle as company attorney for Utah Power and Light Company. He later represented Utah Light and Traction, and then Idaho Power Company and Boise Valley Traction Company, both in Boise.[^7] ## Military service A slight heart murmur kept Burton out of the United States Naval Academy.[^8] In 1916 he attended a military training camp in Salt Lake City. The United States declared war in April 1917, and Burton enlisted in the Army the following month. He was commissioned a second lieutenant after three months of officer training at the Presidio in San Francisco.[^8] At Camp Lewis near Tacoma, Washington, Burton commanded Company A of the 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division. His regimental commander, Colonel William Davis, became his mentor.[^8] In June 1918 Burton was sent to France for a field officer school. He rejoined the regiment near Saint-Mihiel in August 1918 and was named regimental operations officer.[^8] He first saw combat in the Meuse–Argonne Offensive. On September 26, 1918, he and Davis left the command post to follow the offensive's first wave.[^8] ## Politics Burton won a seat on the East Cleveland Board of Education in 1927 and in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1928.[^2] After a short tenure in the House, he became Cleveland's law director in 1929. He went back to private practice in 1932.[^2] Cleveland voters chose Burton as mayor in 1935 and re-elected him twice. His administration dealt with the assimilation of immigrant populations, support for local industry, and transportation needs. His decorous personal life and his opposition to organized crime earned him the nickname "the Boy Scout Mayor."[^2] In the 1940 Senate election he defeated John McSweeney with 52.3% of the vote, and he left the mayor's office on entering the Senate in 1941.[^2] As a senator, he was a member of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, which oversaw the U.S. effort in World War II. Then-Senator Harry S. Truman was also on the committee.[^2] ## Supreme Court ### Nomination On June 30, 1945, Justice Owen J. Roberts announced that he would leave the Court effective July 31, 1945.[^3] As a bipartisan gesture, Truman decided to name a Republican, and he chose Burton, whom he knew and respected.[^3] The nomination went to the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 18, 1945, and the full Senate approved it unanimously a day later.[^3] Burton resigned his Senate seat on September 30 and was sworn in as an associate justice on October 1, 1945.[^3] He was the last sitting member of Congress appointed to the Court. [[Sherman Minton]], appointed in 1949, was a former senator.[^3] ### Judicial philosophy and working style Rise found no overarching judicial philosophy in Burton's work. Burton leaned toward judicial restraint and decided most cases on narrow procedural rather than constitutional grounds.[^4] In Rise's account, that restraint came from Burton's political views rather than from a legal theory. He deferred to the legislative and executive branches because he personally agreed with their judgments.[^4] This pragmatism earned him the respect of the other justices. It also helped unify the Court when the justices split on constitutional questions but could agree on technical or procedural grounds.[^4] Between 1945 and 1953, Burton usually sided with the Court's centrist majority, and on some issues he joined a slightly more conservative majority.[^4] He belonged to the "Vinson bloc" with Chief Justice [[Fred M. Vinson]] and Associate Justices [[Tom C. Clark]], Minton and [[Stanley Forman Reed]]. In non-unanimous decisions, the five voted together 75 percent of the time.[^4] ## Late life After retiring from the Court in 1958, Burton sat by designation on panels of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for several years.[^9] He died in Washington, D.C., on October 28, 1964. The causes were complications of Parkinson's disease, kidney failure and pulmonary trouble. He was buried at Highland Park Cemetery in Cleveland.[^9] ## Legacy In 1986 Cleveland renamed its Main Avenue Bridge for Burton.[^10] Most of his papers are held in four collections:[^10] - Bowdoin College: 750 items, including documents on 47 judicial opinions. - Hiram College Archives: 69 items. - Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress: 187 feet (120,000 items), chiefly correspondence and legal files. - Western Reserve Historical Society: 10 linear feet, chiefly on his mayoralty. ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), lead section — offices held, Court tenure and successor, authored opinions, reputation on the Court. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Politics" — school board, Ohio House, law director, mayoralty, 1940 Senate result, defense-program committee. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Supreme Court: Nomination" — Roberts's resignation dates, Truman's choice, committee referral, confirmation, swearing-in. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Supreme Court: Judicial philosophy and working style" — Rise's assessment; centrist majority; "Vinson bloc" voting rate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Early life" — birthplace, parents, family, Bowdoin and Harvard Law School. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Marriage and family" — 1912 marriage and children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Early career" — Cleveland practice and utility-company posts in Utah and Idaho. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Military service" — 1916 camp, May 1917 enlistment, commission, assignments, Meuse–Argonne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Late life" — appellate service by designation; death and burial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *Harold H. Burton* (revision 1365923806, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Legacy" — 1986 bridge renaming; papers collections and holdings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_H._Burton