William McRae should not be confused with William MacRae.
| William McRae | |||||||||||||||
| Office: | Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start: | 1971 | ||||||||||||||
| Term End: | 1973 | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor: | Joseph Patrick Lieb | ||||||||||||||
| Successor: | George C. Young | ||||||||||||||
| Office1: | Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start1: | October 29, 1962 | ||||||||||||||
| Term End1: | January 27, 1973 | ||||||||||||||
| Appointer1: | operation of law | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor1: | Seat established by 76 Stat. 247 | ||||||||||||||
| Successor1: | John A. Reed Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Office2: | Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start2: | March 8, 1961 | ||||||||||||||
| Term End2: | October 29, 1962 | ||||||||||||||
| Appointer2: | John F. Kennedy | ||||||||||||||
| Predecessor2: | William J. Barker | ||||||||||||||
| Successor2: | Seat abolished | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Name: | William Allan McRae Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 25 September 1909 | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Marianna, Florida | ||||||||||||||
| Education: | University of Florida (A.B.) Fredric G. Levin College of Law (J.D.) | ||||||||||||||
| Footnotes: |
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William Allan McRae Jr. (September 25, 1909 – January 27, 1973) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and was a second team All-American football player for the University of Florida.
Born in Marianna, Florida, McRae received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the University of Florida in 1932. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford University in 1933. He received a Juris Doctor from the Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida in 1933. He received a Bachelor of Letters from Oxford University in 1936. He was in private practice of law in Jacksonville, Florida from 1936 to 1940. He was a Professor of Law at the University of Florida from 1940 to 1941. He was in the United States Army Air Corps as a Colonel from 1942 to 1945. He served as an adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the June 1945 San Francisco Conference, which founded the United Nations and drafted the United Nations Charter.[1] He was in private practice of law in Bartow, Florida from 1946 to 1961.
While attending Florida, McRae played at the guard position for coach Charlie Bachman's Florida Gators football team from 1928 to 1930. During his sophomore season in 1928, he was a standout lineman for the Gators team that finished 8–1, losing only to the Tennessee Volunteers by single point in the final game of the season. After the season, United Press named him as a second-team All-American on its 1928 All-America Team.[2]
McRae was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on February 20, 1961, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida vacated by Judge William J. Barker. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 3, 1961, and received his commission on March 8, 1961. He was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on October 29, 1962, to a new seat established by 76 Stat. 247. He served as Chief Judge from 1971 to 1973. His service was terminated on January 27, 1973, due to his death.