JOHN MORTON-FINNEY
Born June 25, 1889 in Uniontown, Kentucky, John Morton-Finney was the son of a former slave and one of seven siblings. During World War I, he fought as a “Buffalo soldier,” an all-black unit of the U.S. Army established by act of Congress in 1866.
John Morton-Finney.
John Morton-Finney.
After an honorable discharge, Morton-Finney—fluent in Latin, Greek, German, Spanish and French—taught languages for several years at Fisk University in Nashville and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. In 1922, he moved to Indianapolis where, five years later, he became the first teacher at Crispus Attucks High School when the all-black academy opened its doors in 1927. “In the era of segregated schools,” the Indianapolis Star wrote in 2009, “Morton-Finney built the foreign languages department at all-black Attucks into one of the state’s finest.” He later taught at other Indianapolis Public Schools.
Over the course of his lifetime, Morton-Finney earned a total of eleven degrees, five of which were in the law—one from Lincoln College of Law in 1935 and another from Indiana University School of Law eleven years later (his other degrees were awarded for mathematics, French, and history). He received his last degree at the age of 75, from Butler University. An avid reader of classical literature, he could recite Homer, Shakespeare, Cicero, and Chaucer from memory. “I never stop studying,” he told the Star, at the age of 104. “When you stop learning, that’s about the end of you.”
Morton-Finney was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court at the age of 83 and continued practicing law until the age of 107. This amazing achievement (to say the least) led to his induction into the National Bar Association’s Hall of Fame in 1991. He died on January 28, 1998, at the age of 108.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
LEGAL POLYMATH AND INDEFATIGABLE LEARNER JOHN M FINNEY
JOHN MORTON-FINNEY
Born June 25, 1889 in Uniontown, Kentucky, John Morton-Finney was the son of a former slave and one of seven siblings. During World War I, he fought as a “Buffalo soldier,” an all-black unit of the U.S. Army established by act of Congress in 1866.
John Morton-Finney.
John Morton-Finney.
After an honorable discharge, Morton-Finney—fluent in Latin, Greek, German, Spanish and French—taught languages for several years at Fisk University in Nashville and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. In 1922, he moved to Indianapolis where, five years later, he became the first teacher at Crispus Attucks High School when the all-black academy opened its doors in 1927. “In the era of segregated schools,” the Indianapolis Star wrote in 2009, “Morton-Finney built the foreign languages department at all-black Attucks into one of the state’s finest.” He later taught at other Indianapolis Public Schools.
Over the course of his lifetime, Morton-Finney earned a total of eleven degrees, five of which were in the law—one from Lincoln College of Law in 1935 and another from Indiana University School of Law eleven years later (his other degrees were awarded for mathematics, French, and history). He received his last degree at the age of 75, from Butler University. An avid reader of classical literature, he could recite Homer, Shakespeare, Cicero, and Chaucer from memory. “I never stop studying,” he told the Star, at the age of 104. “When you stop learning, that’s about the end of you.”
Morton-Finney was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court at the age of 83 and continued practicing law until the age of 107. This amazing achievement (to say the least) led to his induction into the National Bar Association’s Hall of Fame in 1991. He died on January 28, 1998, at the age of 108.
