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2 B.U. L. Rev. 64 (1922)
Alumni Notes

handle is hein.journals/bulr2 and id is 64 raw text is: ALUMNI NOTES (Contributed by the Alumni Editorial Board, excepting the Notable Alumni items which are the work of Mr. Ralph D. Weston of the Undergraduate Edi- torial Board.) Notable Alumni: Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court CHIEF JUSTICE ARTHUR PRENTICE RUGG The highest single judicial honor of Massachusetts rests in Chief Justice Arthur Prentice Rugg. He was born in Sterling, Mass., August 20, 1862, son of Prentice and Cynthia (Ross) Rugg. His boyhood days were devoted to the sober industry of a farm life. Later, an ambitious student, he went to Amherst College, receiving his degree of A.B. from that institution in 1883. He was graduated from Boston University Law School in 1886 with a degree of LL.B. magna cum laude. His excellent ability as a speaker merited his choice as class orator. And here again is presented a picturesque figure of the young man Rugg, pursuing his studies with relentless vigor and at the same time working in a Boston restaurant and later teaching in evening schools at Worcester. Amherst College be- stowed the degree of LL.D. upon him in 1908, and he received a similar honor from Harvard University in 1914. Chief Justice Rugg's graduate days were marked with distinct and continuous success. Upon admission to the bar, he visited Ex-Congressman John R. Thayer. Mr. Thayer was impressed with the poise and earnest appearance of the young man. Apropos of this encounter it is singular to note that the ex-congressman later took Mr. Rugg into partnership. While in Sterling he served as a member of the school board and trustee of the public library from 1887 to 1889. In 1895 he became president of the Worcester Com- mon Council. From 1893 to 1897 he was assistant district attorney of the Massachusetts Middle District. He resigned this position upon his selection as city solicitor of Worcester in 1877. He was also counsel for many towns in central Massachusetts. The law on water rights demanded his particular attention, and he was retained in many such cases both in and out of the state. Governor Guild was the signatory of Mr. Rugg's appointment as associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. In 1911 Governor Foss elevated Justice Rugg to the high office of Chief Justice of the state, where he now serves. For the first time in the history of the Supreme Court, established in 1775, its junior asso- ciate was promoted to chief justice. Chief Justice Rugg was married in 1889 to Miss Florence W. Belcher. He is devoted to his home life and to his profession. To a visitor of his court he lends in no small measure those scholarly attributes so essential to the prestige of our judicial department,

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