Biddle, Francis

Born May 9, 1886, in Paris, France
Died October 4, 1968, in Wellfleet, MA

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Nominated by Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 9, 1939, to a seat vacated by Joseph Buffington. Confirmed by the Senate on February 28, 1939, and received commission on March 4, 1939. Service terminated on January 22, 1940, due to resignation.

Education:
Harvard University, B.A., 1909
Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1911

Professional Career:

Personal secretary, Hon. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Supreme Court of the United States, 1911-1912
Private practice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1912-1938
U.S. Army, 1918
Special assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1922-1926
Chairman, National Labor Relations Board, 1934-1935
Chief counsel, Special Congressional Committee to Investigate the Tennessee Valley Authority, 1938-1939
Solicitor general of the United States, 1940
Director, Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Department of Justice, 1940
Attorney General of the United States, 1941-1945
U.S. representative to International Military Tribunal--Nuremburg Trials, 1945-1946
Chairman, Americans for Democratic Action, 1950-1953

Bibliography

Biddle, Francis. In Brief Authority. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1962.

Biddle, Francis. A Casual Past. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1961.

Helfman, Tara. “Francis Biddle and the Nuremburg Legacy: Waking the Human Conscience.” Journal Jurisprudence, vol. 15 (Sep. 2012): 353-372.

Washburn, Patrick S. "FDR Versus His Own Attorney General: The Struggle Over Sedition, 1941-42." Journalism Quarterly 62 (Winter 1985): 717-24.

Weisman, Morris. “Attorneys General Edmund Jenning Randolph and Francis Biddle.” Commercial Law Journal, vol. 46, no. 10 (Oct. 1941): 378-382.

Manuscript Collections

Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.
Biddle family letters, 1777-1973.
3 linear ft.; finding aid; includes correspondence between Francis Biddle and his wife, Katherine Biddle, between 1912 and 1968, as well as letters to Francis Biddle from his brother, George.

Francis Biddle papers, 1911-1961.
15 linear ft.; collection includes Biddle's personal papers.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum
Hyde Park, N.Y.
Francis Biddle papers, 1912-1967.
11 linear ft.; finding aid; papers include U.S. Department of Justice reports and memoranda, speeches, correspondence, and cabinet meeting notes. There are also writings, scrapbooks, and notes for Biddle's autobiography.

Syracuse University
Department of Special Collections
Syracuse, N.Y.
Francis Biddle collection of Nuremberg Trial documents, 1945-1946 and related material, 1928-1960.
9 linear ft.; finding aid; restricted; material related to Biddle's service on the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.

Federal Judicial Center

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Biddle, Francis