1872–1946, American jurist, 12th Chief Justice of the United States (1941–46), b. Chesterfield, N.H. A graduate (1898) of Columbia Univ. law school, he was admitted (1899) to the bar, practiced law in New York City, and lectured at the Columbia law school, where he became professor (1902) and dean (1910). He resigned his deanship in 1923 and, as U.S. Attorney General (1924–25) under President Coolidge, helped to restore faith in the Dept. of Justice after the Teapot Dome scandals. Appointed (1925) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, he established a reputation for his vigorous minority opinions, especially those in which he defended the social and economic welfare legislation of the New Deal against the conservative majority. Stone saw many of his minority opinions later accepted as majority decisions. He succeeded Charles Evans Hughes as Chief Justice. Public Control of Business (1940) is a selection of Stone's opinions as Associate Justice.

See biography by A. T. Mason (1956, repr. 1968) and study by S. J. Konefsky (1946, repr. 1971).

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