MLK Library

DUFFY, Francis Ryan, a Senator from Wisconsin; born in Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County, Wis., June 23, 1888; attended the public schools; graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, in 1910 and from its law department in 1912; admitted to the bar in 1912 and commenced practice in Fond du Lac, Wis.; during the First World War served in the United States Army 1917-1919, attaining the rank of major; resumed the practice of law in Fond du Lac, Wis.; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1939; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1938; again resumed the practice of law before becoming United States district judge for the eastern district of Wisconsin, serving from 1939 to 1949, when he qualified as a United States circuit judge of the court of appeals for the seventh circuit, becoming chief judge in 1954, serving until 1959; retired as a full-time member of the court in 1966 and assumed the status of senior judge and continued to hear cases for several more years; died in Milwaukee, Wis., August 16, 1979; interment in Calvary Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wis.