born Oct. 11, 1872, Chesterfield, N.H., U.S. died April 22, 1946, Washington, D.C. U.S. jurist. He studied at Columbia Law School and later practiced law while serving as dean (1910-23). Pres. Calvin Coolidge appointed him U.S. attorney general in 1924; during his tenure he reorganized the Federal Bureau of Investigation after its reputation had been tarnished by the Teapot Dome and other scandals. In 1925 Coolidge appointed him to the Supreme Court of the United States, and in 1941 Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt promoted him to chief justice, a position he retained until his death. He wrote more than 600 opinions, many on important constitutional questions. He was often less successful, however, in building a consensus among his associate justices, with the result that the court during his chief justiceship was often a bitterly divided body