Charles Evans Whittaker

Charles Evans Whittaker
Charles Evans Whittaker, c. 1956
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office
March 25, 1957 – March 31, 1962
Nominated byDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byStanley Forman Reed
Succeeded byByron White
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
In office
June 5, 1956 – March 24, 1957
Nominated byDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byJohn Caskie Collet
Succeeded byMarion Charles Matthes
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
In office
July 8, 1954 – June 21, 1956
Nominated byDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byAlbert L. Reeves
Succeeded byRandle Jasper Smith
Personal details
Born
Charles Evans Whittaker

(1901-02-22)February 22, 1901
Troy, Kansas, U.S.
DiedNovember 26, 1973(1973-11-26) (aged 72)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Winifred Pugh
(m. 1928)
Children3
EducationKansas City School of Law (LLB)

Charles Evans Whittaker (February 22, 1901 – November 26, 1973) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1957 to 1962. After working in private practice in Kansas City, Missouri, he was nominated for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated Whittaker to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. In 1957, he won confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States, thus becoming the first individual to serve as a judge on a federal district court, a federal court of appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. During his brief tenure on the Warren Court, Whittaker emerged as a swing vote. In 1962, he had a nervous breakdown and resigned from the Court. After leaving the Supreme Court, he served as chief counsel to General Motors and frequently criticized the Civil Rights Movement and the Warren Court.