# Today in Supreme Court History: November 3, 1845

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/today-in-supreme-court-history-november-3-1845/
- Published: 2026-11-03T12:00:26+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T23:07:11+00:00
- Original publisher: Reason (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://reason.com/volokh/2026/11/03/today-in-supreme-court-history-november-3-1845-8/
- Topics: Americas, Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Edward Douglass White was born on 3 November 1845.
- He served as a Supreme Court justice and later as chief justice.
- His opinion in the Standard Oil case shaped US antitrust law.

## Summary

A 3 November 2026 historical note marks the birthday of Edward Douglass White, born in Louisiana on 3 November 1845. White served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, then became a lawyer, a Louisiana state senator, a justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court and a US senator. President Grover Cleveland appointed him to the US Supreme Court in 1894, and President William Howard Taft elevated him to chief justice in 1910.

White served on the Court until his death in 1921. His tenure included the 1911 Standard Oil decision, in which the Court upheld the company’s dissolution and White set out the ‘rule of reason’ for assessing restraints of trade under federal antitrust law. The anniversary note itself reports his birthday; these career details place that brief remembrance in historical context.

## Coverage

- [Reason: Today in Supreme Court History: November 3, 1845](https://reason.com/volokh/2026/11/03/today-in-supreme-court-history-november-3-1845-8/)
- [Supreme Court Historical Society: Previous Chief Justices: Edward Douglass White, 1910–1921](https://supremecourthistory.org/chief-justices/edward-white-1910-1921/)
- [Supreme Court Historical Society: History of the Court: The White Court, 1910–1921](https://supremecourthistory.org/history-of-the-courts/white-court-1910-1921/)

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