William Adams Richardson
Chief Justice of theCourt of Claims
In office January 20, 1885 – October 19, 1896
Appointed by	Chester A. Arthur
Preceded by	Charles D. Drake
Succeeded by	Charles C. Nott
Judge of theCourt of Claims
In office June 2, 1874 – January 20, 1885
Appointed by	Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	Samuel Milligan
Succeeded by	John Davis
29thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury
In office March 17, 1873 – June 3, 1874
President	Ulysses S. Grant
Preceded by	George S. Boutwell
Succeeded by	Benjamin Bristow
Acting Attorney General
In office 1870
President	Andrew Johnson
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
In office 1869–1872
President	Andrew Johnson
Personal details
Born	William Adams Richardson (1821-11-02)November 2, 1821 Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	October 19, 1896(1896-10-19) (aged 74) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Oak Hill Cemetery Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education	Harvard University (AB,AM,LLB)

William Adams Richardson (November 2, 1821 – October 19, 1896) was an American lawyer who served as the 29thUnited States secretary of the treasury from 1873 to 1874. During his tenure, thePanic of 1873 swept the nation and caused a depression that lasted five years. He controversially responded by issuing $26 million ingreenbacks, which averted the crisis, although there was debate as to whether he had the authority to do so. His tenure was marred by theSanborn incident in 1874, which involved favoritism and profiteering in the collection of unpaid taxes. He was later appointed a judge, and subsequently the chief justice, of theUnited States Court of Claims.

Born on November 2, 1821, inTyngsborough,Massachusetts,^[1] Richardson studied atPinkerton Academy andLawrence Academy at Groton.^[2] Richardson received anArtium Baccalaureus degree in 1843, and anArtium Magister degree in 1846, both fromHarvard University and aBachelor of Laws in 1846 fromHarvard Law School.^[1] He passed the Massachusetts' bar in July 1846.^[3][4]

Richardson entered private practice inLowell, Massachusetts in 1846.^[1] Richardson entered partnership and practiced law with his older brother Daniel Samuel, who had a large practice in Lowell.^[4] As the junior law partner, Richardson was considered to be a painstaking methodical office attorney.^[4]

He served in the militia, first as ajudge advocate with the rank ofmajor and later as an aide toGovernorGeorge N. Briggs with the rank oflieutenant colonel.^[2] He was aJustice of the peace forMiddlesex County, Massachusetts from 1847 to 1854.^[1] He was a bank President in Wamesit,^[5] Massachusetts from 1852 to 1853.^[1]

He was president of the Common Council of Lowell from 1853 to 1854, and president of the Mechanics' Association.^[6] He was appointed to revise the statutes of Massachusetts in 1855, and subsequently chosen by the legislature to edit the annual supplements of the general statutes, which he continued to do for 22 years.^[6] He was a judge of the Middlesex County Probate Court from 1856 to 1858.^[1] He was a judge of the Middlesex County Probate and Insolvency Courts from 1858 to 1872.^[1] He was an overseer of Harvard from 1863 to 1875.^[6]

Richardson was aUnited States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1869 to 1872.^[1] He was Acting Attorney General for theUnited States Department of Justice in 1870.^[1] He wasUnited States Secretary of the Treasury from 1873 to 1874, under PresidentUlysses S. Grant.^[6][1]

During Richardson's tenure thePanic of 1873 swept the nation and caused a depression that lasted five years.^[7] Richardson responded by controversially releasing $26,000,000 in paper money reserves in an inflationist measure to help alleviate the effects of the general panic.^[7] There was debate whether Richardson had the authority to do so, however, Congress had not passed a law to forbid such an action.^[7] Richardson secured the $15,000,000 award from theAlabama Claims through the retirement of United States bonds held in Europe.^[7] This was to ensure that no gold had to be transferred overseas by ship.^[7]

The post-war economy had expanded so quickly that commercial banks became nervous and began calling in their loans.^[7] As a result, in the summer of 1873 the money supply tightened drastically, causing thePanic of 1873.^[7] Richardson responded by issuing $26 million ingreenbacks to meet the demand.^[7] The legality of his action was doubtful, but theCongress did not interfere and the crisis was eased.^[7] Such cycles of expansion and panic continued for the next thirty years, however, and were the basis for the creation of theFederal Reserve in 1913.^[7]

Richardson's tenure was marred by theSanborn Incident, which involved favoritism and profiteering in the collection of unpaid taxes.^[7] Pressure mounted for Richardson to be removed; he tendered his resignation, which President Grant accepted.^[7] As a face-saving gesture, Grant then appointed Richardson as a Judge of theCourt of Claims.^[7]

Richardson was nominated by PresidentUlysses S. Grant on June 1, 1874, to a Judge seat on theCourt of Claims (later theUnited States Court of Claims) vacated by JudgeSamuel Milligan.^[1] He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on June 2, 1874, and received his commission the same day.^[1] His service terminated on January 20, 1885, due to his elevation to be Chief Justice of the same court.^[1]

Richardson was nominated by PresidentChester A. Arthur on January 15, 1885, to the Chief Justice seat on the Court of Claims vacated by Chief JusticeCharles D. Drake.^[1] He was confirmed by the Senate on January 20, 1885, and received his commission the same day.^[1] His service terminated on October 19, 1896, due to his death inWashington, D.C.^[1] He was interred inOak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.^[8]

Concurrent with his federal judicial service, Richardson was the editor of the Supplement to the Revised Statutes of the United States from 1874 to 1891, as well as a professor of law atGeorgetown Law from 1879 to 1894.^[1] Richardson was also a member of the District of Columbia Society of theSons of the Revolution.

Richardson's father was Daniel Richardson who practiced law and was Tyngsborough'spostmaster, and his mother was Mary Adams of Chelmsford.^[4] Richardson was the descendant of Ezekiel Richardson who settled in Massachusetts Bay in 1630.^[4] Richardson's mother died in 1825 and her sister became his step-mother the next year.^[4]

• The Banking Laws of Massachusetts (Lowell, 1855)
• Supplement to the General Statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, withGeorge P. Sanger (Boston, 1860–1882)
• Practical information concerning the public debt of the United States: with the national banking laws (Washington, D.C., 1872)

He prepared and edited:

• Supplement to the Revised Statutes of the United States, 2nd ed. (1881)
• History, Jurisdiction, and Practice of the Court of Claims (United States) (1882–1885)

• Fairman, Charles (1935). Dumas Malone (ed.).Dictionary of American Biography Richardson, William Adams.New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
• Chernow, Ron (2017).Grant. New York:Penguin Books. pp. 776–782.ISBN 978-0143110637.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWilliam Adams Richardson.

• "Richardson, William Adams - Federal Judicial Center".www.fjc.gov.
• "William A. Richardson (1873–1874)".www.treasury.gov. February 8, 2025.

• 1821 births
• 1896 deaths
• 19th-century American politicians
• 19th-century Massachusetts state court judges
• United States secretaries of the treasury
• Harvard Law School alumni
• Lawyers from Lowell, Massachusetts
• American militia officers
• Judges of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court
• Judges of the United States Court of Claims
• Grant administration cabinet members
• United States Article I federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant
• Pinkerton Academy alumni
• Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)
• Harvard College alumni
• People from Tyngsborough, Massachusetts

• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from Appleton's Cyclopedia
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from November 2021
• Commons category link from Wikidata