Francis Singleton Howell (1863 – June 28, 1937)[1] [2] was a justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court from 1927 to 1929.
Born on a plantation in Milton County, Georgia (later part of Fulton County), Howell attended school in Atlanta, and Emory University,[2] and read law in Loup City, Nebraska to gain admission to the bar.[1]
He practiced law in various cities in the state between 1884 and 1909,[1] moving to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1900.[2]
In January 1910, President William Howard Taft appointed Howell United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska,[3] The appointment was confirmed, and Howell was formally sworn into office on February 10, 1910.[4] Howell served from 1910 to 1915.[1] [2]
Howell was appointed to the state supreme court on December 29, 1927, to fill a vacancy created by the death of Judge George A. Day. Howell ran for reelection to the seat, but was defeated by L. B. Day,[5] resulting in Howell's retirement from the court in 1929.
Howell had a son who died in World War I.[1] Howell died at his home in Omaha from heart disease, at the age of 73,[2] and was honored with a memorial service by the state bar.[1]