Levi Woodbury

Levi Woodbury lived from December 22, 1789 to September 4, 1851 and was an American attorney, jurist and Democratic politician from New Hampshire whose four decade public career included service as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, a United States senator, the ninth governor of New Hampshire, and a cabinet member under presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren; he was also promoted as a candidate for the 1848 Democratic presidential nomination. Born in Francestown, New Hampshire, he established a legal practice there in 1812, served in the New Hampshire Senate, was appointed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 1817, served as governor from 1823 to 1824, and represented New Hampshire in the United States Senate from 1825 to 1831, aligning with Andrew Jacksons Democratic Party. He served as United States Secretary of the Navy under Jackson and as Secretary of the Treasury under Jackson and Van Buren, then returned to the Senate from 1841 to 1845 before accepting President James K. Polks appointment to the Supreme Court. Woodbury was the first Supreme Court justice to have attended law school.