Joseph Putnam Willson

Joseph Putnam Willson (January 7, 1902 – August 3, 1998) was a United States federal judge.

Born in Bath, New York, Willson received a B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1926 and an LL.B. from Temple University School of Law in 1931. He was in private practice in Smethport, Pennsylvania from 1931 to 1953. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II, from 1942 to 1945. He was a member, of the Pennsylvania Game Commission from 1948 to 1953, and was a Special Master for the Supreme Court of the United States from 1964 to 1972.

On June 8, 1953, Willson was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated by Owen M. Burns. Willson was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 14, 1953, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on October 18, 1968, serving in that capacity until his death, in 1998, in Smethport.

Sources

• Joseph Putnam Willson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.