Senator Francis Ryan Duffy

Francis Ryan Duffy (June 23, 1888 – August 16, 1979) was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist from Wisconsin who served 45 years in federal office as a United States senator, United States district judge, and judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Wisconsin in the United States Senate from 1933 to 1939 and later served as chief judge of the Seventh Circuit from 1954 through 1959. His long public career spanned the New Deal era, World War II, and the postwar expansion of the federal judiciary.

Duffy was born on June 23, 1888, in Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, where he attended the public schools. He pursued higher education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1910. He then studied law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, earning a Bachelor of Laws in 1912. That same year he was admitted to the bar and began the private practice of law in his hometown of Fond du Lac, establishing himself as a practicing attorney in the years immediately preceding the First World War.

With the entry of the United States into World War I, Duffy left his law practice to serve in the United States Army from 1917 to 1919. During his military service he attained the rank of major. Following his discharge, he returned to Fond du Lac and resumed the private practice of law, continuing in practice from 1919 to 1933. During this period he became increasingly active in Democratic politics in Wisconsin, positioning himself for a bid for federal office during the political realignments of the early 1930s.

Duffy was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate from Wisconsin and served one term from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1939, sitting in the 73rd, 74th, and 75th Congresses. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, coinciding with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and the nation’s efforts to recover from the Great Depression. As a member of the Senate, Francis Ryan Duffy participated in the legislative process, contributed to the development of national policy, and represented the interests of his Wisconsin constituents. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1938, and upon leaving the Senate in January 1939 he briefly resumed the private practice of law in 1939.

Later in 1939, Duffy transitioned from elective to judicial office. He was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 21, 1939, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, vacated by Judge Ferdinand August Geiger. The United States Senate confirmed his nomination on June 26, 1939, and he received his commission on June 29, 1939. He served as a United States district judge for nearly a decade, from 1939 until February 2, 1949, when his service on that court terminated due to his elevation to the court of appeals.

Duffy’s judicial career advanced further when President Harry S. Truman nominated him on January 13, 1949, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, filling the vacancy created by the death of Judge Evan Alfred Evans. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 31, 1949, received his commission on February 2, 1949, and was sworn in on February 14, 1949. He became chief judge of the Seventh Circuit in 1954 and served in that capacity, and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, until 1959. He assumed senior status on June 30, 1966, but continued to serve on the court in a reduced capacity, extending his federal judicial service well into his later years.

Francis Ryan Duffy died on August 16, 1979, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while still holding senior status on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. His career, encompassing service as a United States senator, a United States district judge, and a federal appellate judge, marked him as one of Wisconsin’s most enduring figures in federal public service.