Guy K. Bard

Summary

Guy Kurtz Bard (October 24, 1895 – November 23, 1953) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Guy K. Bard
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In office
December 20, 1939 – July 16, 1952
Appointed byFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byOliver Booth Dickinson
Succeeded byFrancis Lund Van Dusen
Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office
April 27, 1938 – January 17, 1939
GovernorGeorge Howard Earle III
Preceded byCharles J. Margiotti
Succeeded byClaude T. Reno
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
In office
March 1, 1937 – April 1, 1937
Appointed byFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byCharles D. McAvoy
Succeeded byJames Cullen Ganey
Personal details
Born
Guy Kurtz Bard

(1895-10-24)October 24, 1895
Ephrata, Pennsylvania
DiedNovember 23, 1953(1953-11-23) (aged 58)
Resting placeFairview Cemetery
Denver, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
EducationFranklin & Marshall College (A.B.)
University of Pennsylvania Law School (LL.B.)

Education and career edit

Born on October 24, 1895, in the Lincoln neighborhood of Ephrata, Pennsylvania,[1] Bard graduated from Millersville State Normal School (now Millersville University of Pennsylvania), then received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1916 from Franklin & Marshall College and a Bachelor of Laws in 1922 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He was a teacher in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from 1911 to 1912. He was the principal of Warwick Township High School in Lititz, Pennsylvania from 1913 to 1915. He was the supervising principal of Ephrata schools from 1916 to 1918. He served in the United States Army from 1918 to 1919. He served as Secretary of the Democratic Committee of Lancaster County from 1920 to 1924, and served as its President from 1925 to 1934. He was in private practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from 1922 to 1939.[2] In 1930, Bard was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, and was a Pennsylvania delegate to the 1932 Democratic National Convention.[3][4] He was special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States from 1934 to 1937. He was the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1937. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission from 1937 to 1938. He was the Pennsylvania Attorney General from 1938 to 1939.[2]

Federal judicial service edit

Bard received a recess appointment from President Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 20, 1939, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated by Judge Oliver Booth Dickinson. He was nominated to the same position by President Roosevelt on April 4, 1940. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 24, 1940, and received his commission on April 29, 1940.[2] Bard was the first person from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to be appointed a United States federal judge.[1] His service terminated on July 16, 1952, due to his resignation to run for the United States Senate.[2] In that effort, he defeated state auditor G. Harold Wagner to win the Democratic nomination,[5] but lost in the general election.

Post judicial service and death edit

Bard unsuccessfully ran for the United States Senate from Pennsylvania in 1952.[1] He then returned to private practice in Pennsylvania from 1952 to 1953. He died on November 23, 1953.[2] He was interred in Fairview Cemetery in Denver, Pennsylvania.[6]

Honor edit

Bard Hall at Millersville University is named after Bard[7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Alexander, Larry (2014-12-21). "Flashback Lancaster". LNP. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  2. ^ a b c d e Guy Kurtz Bard at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  3. ^ Westbrook, C. H., ed. (1940). The Pennsylvania Manual: 1939. Vol. 84. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  4. ^ "Lehigh Men in the News". Lehigh Alumni Bulletin. 25 (1): 20. 1937.
  5. ^ John S. Langdon, "Eisenhower Wins Easily In State Balloting", The Huntingdon Daily News (April 23, 1952), p. 1, 13.
  6. ^ "Guy K. Bard".
  7. ^ "Buildings and Landmarks". Retrieved 2015-06-17.

Further reading edit

  • Brown, Focht, ed. (1942). The Pennsylvania Manual: 1941. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. p. 980.

External links edit

Legal offices
Preceded by
Charles D. McAvoy
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
1937
Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney General of Pennsylvania
1938–1939
Succeeded by
Claude T. Reno
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
1939–1952
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
Eugene C. Bonniwell
Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
1930
Succeeded by
Preceded by Democratic nominee for United States Senator from Pennsylvania (Class 1)
1952
Succeeded by