Melville Weston Fuller (February 11, 1833 – July 4, 1910) was the Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910.
Fuller was born in Augusta, Maine. Both his maternal grandfather, Nathan Weston and paternal grandfather, Henry Weld Fuller were judges. His father was a well-known lawyer. His parents divorced shortly after his birth, and he was raised by Nathan Weston. He attended college at Harvard University for one year before graduatin...
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Melville Weston Fuller (February 11, 1833 – July 4, 1910) was the Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910.
Fuller was born in Augusta, Maine. Both his maternal grandfather, Nathan Weston and paternal grandfather, Henry Weld Fuller were judges. His father was a well-known lawyer. His parents divorced shortly after his birth, and he was raised by Nathan Weston. He attended college at Harvard University for one year before graduating from Bowdoin College, Phi Beta Kappa in 1853. He then spent six months at Harvard Law School, leaving without graduating in 1855.
Fuller first studied law under the direction of an uncle, in Bangor, Maine. In 1855, he went into partnership with another uncle. He also became the editor of The Age, a leading Democratic newspaper in Augusta, Maine. Soon he tired of Maine and moved to Chicago. In 1860, he managed Democrat Stephen Douglas' campaign for the Presidency of the United States
At the time, Chicago was becoming the gateway to the West....
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