# Horace Gray *American jurist who served on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the United States Supreme Court* Horace Gray (March 24, 1828 – September 15, 1902) was an American judge. He sat first on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and later on the United States Supreme Court.[^1] His cached Wikipedia biography says he often read the Constitution so as to enlarge the powers of Congress, and that he consistently upheld the authority of precedent.[^1] He wrote opinions in cases including *Elk v. Wilkins* and *United States v. Wong Kim Ark*.[^1] President Chester A. Arthur nominated him to the Supreme Court in December 1881.[^4] In 1884 he wrote the majority opinion in *Juilliard v. Greenman*, which reaffirmed that Congress could issue paper money as legal tender.[^5] ## Early life Gray was a native of Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were Horace Gray and Harriet Gray (née Upham), and his grandfather was the merchant and politician William Gray.[^2] He began at Harvard College at 13 and completed his studies there four years later.[^2] He then spent time traveling in Europe before attending Harvard Law School, which awarded him an LL.B. in 1849.[^2] Admitted to the bar in 1851, he practiced in Boston for 13 years.[^2] ## Judicial career ### Massachusetts state courts Gray became Reporter of Decisions for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1854.[^3] In that role he edited sixteen volumes of the court's records and advised the [[governor]] of Massachusetts on legal and constitutional questions.[^3] According to the biography, this work established his standing in historical scholarship and legal research.[^3] In 1864, at 36, he was appointed an associate justice of the same court, the youngest person ever appointed to it.[^3] Nine years later he became chief justice.[^3] As chief justice he engaged Louis D. Brandeis as a clerk, making him the first justice of that court to employ a law clerk.[^3] ### United States Supreme Court The seat Arthur nominated him to in December 1881 had become vacant on the death of [[Nathan Clifford]].[^4] The [[United States Senate]] acted quickly to confirm him, and he took his place on the Court on January 9, 1882.[^4] He was the first justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to employ a law clerk, as he had been in Massachusetts.[^4] Because no government funds had then been appropriated for the position, he paid the clerk himself.[^4] He was one of only a few Supreme Court appointees of the late 19th century who had not been a politician before joining the bench, and he regarded law and politics as wholly separate fields.[^4] Two years after his appointment, Gray wrote for the majority in *Juilliard v. Greenman* (1884), the final case in the post–Civil War series known as the Legal Tender Cases.[^5] The decision, by an 8–1 vote, reaffirmed congressional power to make paper money legal tender and relied largely on earlier court decisions.[^5] ## Personal life The American Antiquarian Society elected Gray a member in 1860, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences elected him a Fellow in 1866.[^6] He married Jane Matthews (1860–1949) in 1889; her father, [[Stanley Matthews (judge)]], was a fellow associate justice.[^6] John Chipman Gray, his half-brother, taught for many years at Harvard Law School and wrote a formative text on the rule against perpetuities.[^6] Horace Gray's grave is in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.[^6] The Third Church of Christ, Scientist was later built on the site of his Washington, D.C. home; that church was torn down in 2014.[^6] ## Legacy A World War II Liberty Ship, the SS *Horace Gray*, bore his name.[^7] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Horace Gray* (lead section; revision 1375641451, retrieved 2026-10-26) — dates of birth and death, court service, characterization of his constitutional interpretation and view of precedent, and the cases *Elk v. Wilkins* and *United States v. Wong Kim Ark*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Gray [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Horace Gray* ("Early life"; revision 1375641451, retrieved 2026-10-26) — birthplace, parentage, Harvard education, 1849 LL.B., 1851 bar admission, 13 years of practice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Gray [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Horace Gray* ("Judicial career — Massachusetts state courts"; revision 1375641451, retrieved 2026-10-26) — 1854 appointment as Reporter of Decisions, 1864 appointment as associate justice, elevation to chief justice, hiring of Brandeis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Gray [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Horace Gray* ("Judicial career — United States Supreme Court"; revision 1375641451, retrieved 2026-10-26) — December 1881 nomination by Arthur, Clifford vacancy, Senate confirmation, January 9, 1882 start, privately paid law clerk, non-politician background. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Gray [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Horace Gray* ("Judicial career — United States Supreme Court"; revision 1375641451, retrieved 2026-10-26) — *Juilliard v. Greenman* (1884), 8–1 decision, Legal Tender Cases. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Gray [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Horace Gray* ("Personal life"; revision 1375641451, retrieved 2026-10-26) — society memberships (1860, 1866), 1889 marriage, half-brother, burial, Washington home site. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Gray [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Horace Gray* ("Legacy"; revision 1375641451, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Liberty Ship SS *Horace Gray*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Gray