Edward Joseph McManus

Summary

Edward Joseph McManus (February 9, 1920 – March 20, 2017) served as the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa and served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa for over 50 years.

Edward Joseph McManus
McManus's court portrait
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
In office
February 9, 1985 – March 20, 2017
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
In office
1962–1985
Preceded byHenry Norman Graven
Succeeded byDonald E. O'Brien
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
In office
July 16, 1962 – February 9, 1985
Appointed byJohn F. Kennedy
Preceded byHenry Norman Graven
Succeeded byDavid R. Hansen
35th Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
In office
January 15, 1959 – January 12, 1961
GovernorHerschel C. Loveless
Preceded byWilliam H. Nicholas
Succeeded byW. L. Mooty
Member of the Iowa Senate
In office
January 3, 1955 – January 11, 1959
City Attorney of Keokuk
In office
1946–1955
Personal details
Born
Edward Joseph McManus

(1920-02-09)February 9, 1920
Keokuk, Iowa
DiedMarch 20, 2017(2017-03-20) (aged 97)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSally Hassett (m.1948)
EducationUniversity of Iowa (B.A.)
University of Iowa College of Law (J.D.)

Education and career edit

Born in Keokuk, Iowa, McManus received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1940 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1942. He was a United States Naval Reserve Lieutenant from 1942 to 1946. He was in private practice in Keokuk from 1946 to 1962, serving as Keokuk City Attorney for the first nine of those years. He was elected to the Iowa Senate as a Democrat in 1954, serving from 1955 to 1959. In 1958 he was elected as the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, a position he held from 1959 to 1961 serving under Governor Herschel C. Loveless. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Iowa in 1960, losing to Norman A. Erbe in November 1960. He was President of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Keokuk from 1955 to 1962 and President of 1001 Corporation in Keokuk from 1960 to 1962.[1]

Federal judicial service edit

 
McManus in the 1950s
 
McManus in the 1990s

McManus was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on June 23, 1962 to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa vacated when Judge Henry N. Graven assumed senior status. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 13, 1962, and received his commission on July 16, 1962. He had not lived in the Northern District until this appointment, and thus needed to relocate from Keokuk (in Iowa's far southeastern county) to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He served as Chief Judge from 1962 to 1985. He assumed senior status on February 9, 1985.[1] No federal district court judge in Iowa history served for a longer period on the bench than McManus. He died at the age of 97 on March 20, 2017, in Cedar Rapids;[2] at the time of his death, McManus was the longest serving living federal judge.[3][4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Edward Joseph McManus at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Judge Edward J. ("Nick") McManus". The Gazette. March 22, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  3. ^ "Judge Edward McManus remembered for decades of service". The Gazette. March 22, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  4. ^ "Edward J. MaManus". Iowa General Assembly.

Sources edit

Party political offices
Preceded by
George E. O'Malley
Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
1958
Succeeded by
John R. Hanson
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Iowa
1960
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
1959–1961
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
1962–1985
Succeeded by
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
1962–1985
Succeeded by