Bancroft Davis

(b. Worcester, Mass., 29 Dec. 1822; d. Washington, D.C., 27 Dec. 1907), diplomat, historian of law, and Supreme Court reporter of decisions, 1883–1902. Davis held an impressive succession of positions before ending his career as the U.S. Supreme Court's reporter of decisions. The son of Massachusetts governor John Davis, he attended Harvard but was suspended in 1840. His A.B. degree was finally awarded to him in 1847. After studying law, Davis became secretary of the American legation at London in 1849 and for a time was its acting chargé d'affaires. He then practiced law in New York and was the American correspondent for the London Times. Suffering from ill health, Davis gave up his law practice in 1862. Recovered from his illness, his career resumed with election to the New York Assembly in 1868. President Ulysses S. Grant soon appointed him assistant secretary of state, a post Davis held until 1871. He resigned to become American secretary to the joint High Commission with Great Britain, which set a mechanism for settlement of claims from Confederate depredations on the high seas. Davis prepared the United States' case before the resulting arbitration tribunal at Geneva. He was later arbitrator between Great Britain and Portugal in a dispute over African possessions. He became minister to Germany in 1874 and was appointed to the Court of Claims in 1877.

Davis finished his public service as the U.S. Supreme Court reporter of decisions from 1883 to 1902, editing volumes 108 through 186 of the United States Reports. At the Court, he classified historical items in the Office of the Clerk. Davis authored various works on diplomacy and history and was awarded an honorary LL.D. by Columbia University in 1887.

See also Reporters, Supreme Court.

— Francis Helminski

John Chandler Bancroft Davis enjoyed a long and prolific career as a diplomat, jurist, and legal historian.

The son of John Davis, a Massachusetts governor and U.S. senator, Davis was born December 29, 1822, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He entered Harvard College in 1840 but was suspended (unjustly, by some accounts) in his senior year. He then studied law and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1844. Three years later, he received his degree from Harvard.

Davis practiced law in New York City until August 1849, when he was appointed secretary of the U.S. legation in Great Britain. He was also acting chargé d'affaires of the embassy for a brief time. Davis left his diplomatic post in November 1852 to resume his law practice and become U.S. correspondent for the London Times. Illness forced him to give up his law practice, and in 1862, he and his wife settled on a farm in rural New York State.

Six years later, after regaining his health, Davis was elected to the New York state assembly. In 1869, he left the legislature to accept an appointment as assistant secretary of state under President Ulysses S. Grant. As the assistant secretary, Davis arbitrated a dispute between Portugal and Great Britain over their African possessions. In 1871, a Joint High Commission was created to settle a dispute between the United States and Great Britain over damages sustained by Confederate vessels during the Civil War. Davis resigned his position with the State Department to become U.S. secretary to the commission. Davis prepared the case for the United States and wrote a five-hundred-page book, The Case of the United States, in which the government demanded compensation for losses sustained by Confederate cruisers and for injuries to commerce. The Tribunal of Arbitration at Geneva later awarded the United States over $15 million in gold for damages.

Davis was reappointed assistant secretary of state in January 1873 but resigned six months later to succeed his uncle, George Bancroft, as minister to Germany.

After six years in Berlin, Davis gave up his diplomatic career to become a judge on the U.S. Court of Claims. He sat on the court for five years, and then served for nearly twenty years as reporter of decisions for the U.S. Supreme Court. As reporter for the Court, he edited over seventy-five volumes of the United States Reports, the official publication of the Court's opinions. Davis also classified important historical data on the federal judiciary. At the time of his death in 1907 at age eighty-five, he had authored significant works on diplomacy, religion, and history, including The Massachusetts Justice (1847), Mr. Fish and the Alabama Claims (1893), and Origin of the Book of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (1897).

For other persons named John Davis, see John Davis (disambiguation).

Bancroft Davis
Bancroft Davis in his later years.
9th Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office 1883 – 1902
Preceded by	William Tod Otto
Succeeded by	Charles Henry Butler
7th, 9th & 14th Assistant Secretary of State
In office March 25, 1869 – November 13, 1871 January 24, 1873 – January 30, 1874 December 19, 1881 – July 7, 1882
Preceded by	Frederick W. Seward Charles Hale Robert R. Hitt
Succeeded by	Charles Hale John Cadwalader John Davis
13th Envoy from the United States to Germany
In office 28 August 1874 – 26 September 1877
President	Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes
Preceded by	George Bancroft
Succeeded by	Bayard Taylor
Born	December 22, 1822(1822-12-22) Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Died	December 27, 1907 (aged 85) Washington, DC, USA
Birth name	John Chandler Bancroft Davis
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Relations	John Davis (father), Horace Davis (brother)
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Author, lawyer, politician

John Chandler Bancroft Davis (December 22, 1822 – December 27, 1907), commonly known as Bancroft Davis, was an American lawyer, judge, diplomat, and president of Newburgh and New York Railway Company.^[1]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Role in corporate personhood controversy 4 Death 5 Works 6 See also 7 References

Early life

Davis was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of John Davis, a Whig governor of Massachusetts, and was the older brother of congressman Horace Davis.^[2] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1847.^[3]

Career

In 1849, Davis became secretary of the American embassy in London and later its chargé d'affaires. He practiced law in New York City and was the correspondent for The Times in London. Because of ill health, he retired from his law work in 1862, but in 1868 he was elected to the New York State Assembly.

Under President Ulysses S. Grant, he was Assistant Secretary of State in 1869–1871 and again in 1873–1874.

Between times he was a secretary of the commission which concluded the Treaty of Washington in 1871, to create a tribunal to settle the Alabama claims. He subsequently represented the United States at the tribunal, the Geneva Court of Arbitration, which met at Geneva on December 15, 1871. The American case was prepared and presented by him.

In 1874, he was appointed as the U.S. Minister to Germany, serving in that position until 1877. President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him to be an associate judge on the United States Court of Claims on December 14, 1877.

For another special assignment at the State Department, he resigned from the Court of Claims in 1881 at the request of President Chester A. Arthur, who reappointed him to the court in 1882. He resigned again in 1883 to become Reporter of Decisions for the Supreme Court.

Role in corporate personhood controversy

Acting as court reporter in the 1886 Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad case, Davis is a key figure in the corporate personhood debate. Journalists have since cited Davis's prior position as president of Newburgh and New York Railway as evidence of a conflict of interest in the corporate personhood interpretation of the ruling.

Death

Bancroft Davis died in Washington, DC in 1907.

Works

• (1847) The Massachusetts Justice
• (1871) The Case of the United States Laid before the Tribunal of Arbitration at Geneva
• (1873) Treaties of the United States, with Notes (new edition)
• (1893) Mr. Fish and the Alabama Claims
• (1897) Origin of the Book of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America

See also

• Davis political family

References

• The United States Court of Claims : a history / pt. 1. The judges, 1855–1976 / by Marion T. Bennett / pt. 2. Origin, development, jurisdiction, 1855–1978 / W. Cowen, P. Nichols, M.T. Bennett. Washington, D.C. : Committee on the Bicentennial of Independence and the Constitution of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 1976 i.e. 1977–1978. 2 vols.

1. ^ "Annual Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor of the State of New York, and of the Tabulations and Deductions from the Reports of the Railroad Corporations for the Year Ending September 30, 1867". The Argus Company, Albany, NY. 1868. pp. 336. http://books.google.com/books?id=hJIaAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA336&ots=CGe1YAujqx&dq=%22new%20york%20railway%20company%22%20newburgh&pg=PA336#v=onepage&q=%22new%20york%20railway%20company%22%20newburgh&f=false. Retrieved 2009-10-04. 
2. ^ "Davis, John Chandler Bancroft (1822–1907)". Political Graveyard. http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis5.html#RK40GFFXZ. Retrieved 2008-09-17. 
3. ^ "John Chandler Bancroft Davis". American Law Encyclopedia Vol 3. http://law.jrank.org/pages/5968/Davis-John-Chandler-Bancroft.html. Retrieved 2008-09-17. 

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