ASSOCIATE JUSTICE JOHN M. HARLAN JR. - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 04/19/1955 - HFSID 146657

JOHN M. HARLAN, JR.
The Supreme Court Justice writes a letter to Governor Theodore R. McKeldin, saying he will be unable to accept a dinner invitation
Typed letter signed: "John M Harlan" as Associate Justice, 1p, 5x7¾. Washington, D.C., 1955 April 19. On letterhead of Supreme Court of the United States to Governor Theodore R. McKeldin, Annapolis, Maryland. Begins: "My dear Governor". In full: "I regret very much that my wife and I have made another dinner engagement for the evening of April 26, so that we are unable to accept your kind invitation to attend the Second National Dinner of the America-Israel Society that evening. Thank you nonetheless for your invitation." Written less than a month after Harlan had been sworn in as Associate Justice. JOHN M. HARLAN, JR. (1899-1971), appointed Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, was sworn in on March 28, 1955, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and namesake, John Marshall Harlan (1833-1911), who served as an Associate Justice from 1877-1911. The younger Harlan had previously served as a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, from 1954-1955. He retired from the Supreme Court on September 23, 1971, just three months before his death on December 29, 1971. Fellow Republican THEODORE ROOSEVELT McKELDIN (1900-1974) was Governor of Maryland from 1951-1959. He also served as Mayor of Baltimore from 1943-1947 and 1963-1967. Lightly creased with fold, not at signature. Staple holes at upper left blank margin, which is lightly soiled. Fine condition.