Clark, Tom C.

Born September 23, 1899, in Dallas, TX
Died June 13, 1977, in New York, NY

Federal Judicial Service:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Nominated by Harry S Truman on August 2, 1949, to a seat vacated by Frank Murphy. Confirmed by the Senate on August 18, 1949, and received commission on August 19, 1949. Assumed senior status on June 12, 1967. Service terminated on June 13, 1977, due to death.

Supreme Court Oath:
August 24, 1949

Allotment as Circuit Justice:

Eighth Circuit, October 14, 1949-March 24, 1957, April 2, 1962-April 15, 1962
Tenth Circuit, October 14, 1949-March 24, 1957
Seventh Circuit, March 25, 1957-June 12, 1967

Education:
University of Texas, A.B., 1921
University of Texas School of Law, LL.B., 1922

Professional Career:

Private practice, Dallas, Texas, 1922-1927, 1932-1937
Civil district attorney, Dallas, Texas, 1927-1932
Special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, 1937-1943; Bureau of War Risk Litigation, 1937-1938; Antitrust Division, 1938-1943
Assistant attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice, 1943-1945; Antitrust Division, 1943; Criminal Division, 1943-1945
Attorney General of the United States, 1945-1949
Director, Federal Judicial Center, 1968-1970

Miscellaneous Information:

Given name at birth: Thomas Campbell Clark

Bibliography

Beeman, Mary Purser. New Deal Justice: Tom C. Clark and the Warren Court, 1953-1967. Ph.D. Diss., University of Texas at Austin, 1993.

Gronlund, Mimi Clark. Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark: A Life of Service. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010.

Smith, Craig Alan. "Make Way for Tomorrow: How Justice Tom C. Clark Departed from and (Almost) Returned to the Supreme Court." Journal of Supreme Court History 46, no. 1 (March 2021): 81-106.

Warnock, Alvin Timothy. “Associate Justice Tom C. Clark: Advocate of Judicial Reform.” Ph.D. Diss., University of Georgia, Athens, 1972.

West, Ellis M. “Justice Tom C. Clark and American Church-State Law.” Journal of Presbyterian History, vol. 54, no. 4 (Winter 1976): 387-404.

Wohl, Alexander. Father, Son, and Constitution: How Justice Tom Clark and Attorney General Ramsey Clark shaped American Democracy. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2013.

Young, Evan A. Lone Star Justice: A Biography of Tom C. Clark. Dallas: Hendrick-Long Pub. Co., 1998.

Manuscript Collections

University of Texas at Austin
Tarlton Law Library
Austin, Tex.
Tom C. Clark papers, 1910-1977.
524 linear ft.; collection includes case files, memoranda, docket sheets, briefs, petitions, transcripts, slip opinions, and correspondence relating to Clark's service on the Supreme Court of the United States; case records documenting Clark's later service on the federal appellate bench; and scrapbooks, correspondence, speeches, films, photographs, and artifacts relating to clark's activities in the American Bar Association and various civic organizations. A detailed finding aid is available on-line.

Harry S Truman Library
Independence, Mo.
Tom C. Clark papers, 1941-1971.
53 linear ft.; finding aid; collection includes correspondence, memoranda, speech files, reports, appointment records, scrapbooks, and other papers relating to Clark's tenure at the U.S. Department of Justice (1945-1949); as well as personal correspondence and other papers documenting his service as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Oral History

Clark, Tom. "Tom Clark Oral History Interview I." Interview conducted on October 7, 1969, by Joe B. Frantz. Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Austin, Texas. Transcript, 36 pages.

Clark, Tom. "Tom C. Clark Oral History." Interview conducted on March 20, 1976, by William D. Stilley and Jerald L. Hill. Harry S Truman Library, Independence, Missouri, 1976. Transcript, 42 pages.

Clark, Tom. "Tom C. Clark Oral History." Interviews conducted on October 17, 1972, and February 8, 1973, by Jerry N. Hess. Harry S Truman Library, Independence, Missouri, 1973. Transcript, 230 pages.

Clark, Tom. "Justice Tom C. Clark." Interview conducted on May 8, 1973, by Robert Ireland. Fred M. Vinson Oral History Project, Special Collections and Archives, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1973. Audiotape, 60 minutes; transcript.

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Clark, Tom C.