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Today in Supreme Court History: November 3, 1845
Developed over time first seen 2 days ago
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.
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In short
- 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.
How this story developed
- 1 day ago A 3 November 2026 historical note marks the birthday of Edward Douglass White, born in Louisiana on 3 November 1845.
- Reason Today in Supreme Court History: November 3, 1845
- Supreme Court Historical Society Previous Chief Justices: Edward Douglass White, 1910–1921
- Supreme Court Historical Society History of the Court: The White Court, 1910–1921
Explained simply
Edward Douglass White was a Louisiana lawyer and politician who served in the US Senate before joining the Supreme Court in 1894. In 1910, President William Howard Taft made him chief justice, the head of the Court.
White served until his death in 1921, a period when the Court considered how federal law should limit the power of large businesses. In 1911, it upheld the break-up of Standard Oil and set out a test for deciding when business practices unlawfully restrict competition.
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