Macon Bolling Allen

Macon Bolling Allen
Born
Allen Macon Bolling

August 4, 1816
Indiana, U.S.
DiedOctober 15, 1894(1894-10-15) (aged 78)
Resting placeCharleston, South Carolina
Other namesAllen Macon Bolling
Occupation(s)Lawyer, judge
Known forFirst African-American lawyer and Second African-American Justice of the Peace
Spouses
  • Emma Allen
  • Hannah Allen
Children7

Macon Bolling Allen (born Allen Macon Bolling; August 4, 1816 – October 15, 1894) was an American attorney who is believed to be the first African American to become a lawyer and to argue before a jury, and the second to hold a judicial position in the United States. Allen passed the bar exam in Maine in 1844 and became a Massachusetts Justice of the Peace in 1847. He moved to South Carolina after the American Civil War to practice law and was elected as a judge in 1873 and again in 1876. Following the Reconstruction Era, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he continued practicing law.