Bancroft Davis

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Bancroft Davis
Bancroft Davis in his later years.
9th Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office 1883–1902
Preceded by	William Tod Otto
Succeeded by	Charles Henry Butler
7th, 9th & 14th Assistant Secretary of State
In office March 25, 1869 – November 13, 1871 January 24, 1873 – January 30, 1874 December 19, 1881 – July 7, 1882
Preceded by	Frederick W. Seward Charles Hale Robert R. Hitt
Succeeded by	Charles Hale John Cadwalader John Davis
13th Envoy from the United States to Germany
In office 28 August 1874 – 26 September 1877
President	Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes
Preceded by	George Bancroft
Succeeded by	Bayard Taylor
Born	December 22, 1822(1822-12-22) Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Died	December 27, 1907 (aged 85) Washington, DC, USA
Birth name	John Chandler Bancroft Davis
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Relations	John Davis (father), Horace Davis (brother)
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Author, lawyer, politician

John Chandler Bancroft Davis (December 22, 1822 – December 27, 1907), commonly known as Bancroft Davis, was an American lawyer, judge, diplomat, and president of Newburgh and New York Railway Company.^[1]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Role in corporate personhood controversy 4 Death 5 Works 6 See also 7 References

[edit] Early life

Davis was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of John Davis, a Whig governor of Massachusetts, and was the older brother of congressman Horace Davis.^[2] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1847.^[3]

[edit] Career

In 1849, Davis became secretary of the American embassy in London and later its chargé d'affaires. He practiced law in New York City and was the correspondent for The Times in London. Because of ill health, he retired from his law work in 1862, but in 1868 he was elected to the New York State Assembly.

Under President Ulysses S. Grant, he was Assistant Secretary of State in 1869–1871 and again in 1873–1874.

Between times he was a secretary of the commission which concluded the Treaty of Washington in 1871, to create a tribunal to settle the Alabama claims. He subsequently represented the United States at the tribunal, the Geneva Court of Arbitration, which met at Geneva on December 15, 1871. The American case was prepared and presented by him.

In 1874, he was appointed as the U.S. Minister to Germany, serving in that position until 1877. President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him to be an associate judge on the United States Court of Claims on December 14, 1877.

For another special assignment at the State Department, he resigned from the Court of Claims in 1881 at the request of President Chester A. Arthur, who reappointed him to the court in 1882. He resigned again in 1883 to become Reporter of Decisions for the Supreme Court.

[edit] Role in corporate personhood controversy

Acting as court reporter in the 1886 Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad case, Davis is a key figure in the corporate personhood debate. Journalists have since cited Davis's prior position as president of Newburgh and New York Railway as evidence of a conflict of interest in the corporate personhood interpretation of the ruling.

[edit] Death

Bancroft Davis died in Washington, DC in 1907.

[edit] Works

• (1847) The Massachusetts Justice
• (1871) The Case of the United States Laid before the Tribunal of Arbitration at Geneva
• (1873) Treaties of the United States, with Notes (new edition)
• (1893) Mr. Fish and the Alabama Claims
• (1897) Origin of the Book of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America

[edit] See also

• Davis political family

[edit] References

• The United States Court of Claims : a history / pt. 1. The judges, 1855–1976 / by Marion T. Bennett / pt. 2. Origin, development, jurisdiction, 1855–1978 / W. Cowen, P. Nichols, M.T. Bennett. Washington, D.C. : Committee on the Bicentennial of Independence and the Constitution of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 1976 i.e. 1977–1978. 2 vols.