W. H. Seward Thomson Explained

W. H. Seward Thomson
Office:Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Term Start:February 21, 1928
Term End:November 29, 1932
Office1:Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Term Start1:July 21, 1914
Term End1:February 21, 1928
Appointer1:Woodrow Wilson
Predecessor1:James Scott Young
Successor1:Nelson McVicar
Birth Name:W. H. Seward Thomson
Birth Date:16 December 1856
Birth Place:Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Education:
Marshall College
read law

W. H. Seward Thomson (December 16, 1856 – November 29, 1932) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Education and career

Born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Thomson attended Washington and Jefferson College, and Marshall College (now Marshall University) in Huntington, West Virginia before reading law to enter the bar in 1880. He was in private practice in Beaver, Pennsylvania from 1881 to 1894, and then in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania until 1914.

Federal judicial service

On July 7, 1914, Thomson was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated by Judge James Scott Young. Thomson was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 21, 1914, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on February 21, 1928, serving in that capacity until his death on November 29, 1932.