Thomas Alan Goldsborough | |
|---|---|
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| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
| In office February 23, 1939 – June 16, 1951 | |
| Appointed by | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 52 Stat. 584 |
| Succeeded by | Luther Youngdahl |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1921 – April 5, 1939 | |
| Preceded by | William Noble Andrews |
| Succeeded by | David Jenkins Ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Alan Goldsborough (1877-09-16)September 16, 1877 Greensboro,Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | June 16, 1951(1951-06-16) (aged 73) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Denton Cemetery Denton, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Relatives | Robert Goldsborough Charles Goldsborough |
| Education | Washington College (B.A.) University of Maryland School of Law (LL.B.) |
Thomas Alan Goldsborough (September 16, 1877 – June 16, 1951) was aUnited States representative fromMaryland and aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Born inGreensboro,Caroline County,Maryland, Goldsborough attended the public schools and the local academy at Greensboro. He received aBachelor of Arts degree fromWashington College ofChestertown, Maryland, in 1899. In 1901, he graduated with aBachelor of Laws from theUniversity of Maryland School of Law, was admitted to the bar the same year, and commenced practice inDenton, Maryland. He served as prosecuting attorney for Caroline County from 1904 to 1908, returning to private practice from 1908 to 1921.[1]
Goldsborough was elected as aDemocrat to theUnited States House of Representatives of the67th United States Congress, beginning his congressional service on March 4, 1921. He was reelected to the nine succeeding Congresses. He also served as regent of theSmithsonian Institution from 1932 to 1939. He resigned his seat on April 5, 1939, to assume a federal judgeship.[2]
In 1932, Goldsborough introduced the so-called "Goldsborough bill", which passed the House, and failed in the Senate. According toRobert Latham Owen, a supporter of the bill, "…the bill which he (Goldsborough) then presented, with the approval of the Committee on Banking and Currency of the House — and I believe it was practically a unanimous report. It was debated for two days in the House, a very simple bill, declaring it to be the policy of the United States to restore and maintain the value of money, and directing the Secretary of the Treasury, the officers of the Federal Reserve Board, and the Reserve banks to make effective that policy. That was all, but enough, and it passed, not by a partisan vote. There were 117 Republicans who voted for that bill (which was presented by a Democrat) and it passed by 289 to 60, and of the 60 who voted against it, only 12, by the will of the people, remain in the Congress.[3] "It was defeated by the Senate, because it was not really understood. There had not been sufficient discussion of it in public. There was not an organized public opinion in support of it."
On January 20, 1939, Goldsborough was nominated by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt to a new Associate Justice seat on theDistrict Court of the United States for the District of Columbia (Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia from June 25, 1948) created by 52 Stat. 584. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on February 16, 1939, and received his commission on February 23, 1939. Goldsborough served in that capacity until his death on June 16, 1951, inWashington, D.C.[1] He was interred in Denton Cemetery in Denton.[2]
Thomas was great-great-great-grandson ofRobert Goldsborough and great-grandson ofCharles Goldsborough.[4]Goldsboro, Maryland, is named after the family.[citation needed]
Some sources credit Goldsborough with introducing the phrasepushing on a string—a metaphor for the difficulty experienced by the Federal Reserve in trying to end an economic contraction—in a 1935 hearing.[5][6]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's 1st congressional district 1921–1939 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by Seat established by 52 Stat. 584 | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia 1939–1951 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
| People | |
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