Page Morris

Portrait of Page Morris

Robert Page Waller Morris (June 30, 1853 – December 16, 1924) was a United States federal judge.

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, Morris attended the College of William and Mary and graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 1872. He then taught as an assistant professor of mathematics at Virginia Military Institute from 1872 to 1873, as professor of mathematics at Texas Military Institute from 1873 to 1876, and as a professor of applied mathematics at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College from 1876 to 1879.

After studying law he was admitted to the bar and was in private practice in Lynchburg, Virginia from 1880 to 1886, during which time he ran as a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia in 1884, but was unsuccessful. He moved to Duluth, Minnesota and entered private practice there in 1886. In February 1889 he was elected municipal judge of Duluth, and then city attorney in March 1894. He was appointed district judge for the Eleventh Judicial District of Minnesota in August 1895, resigning the following year to run for Congress. Elected as a Republican, he served as U.S. Representative from Minnesota to the 55th, 56th, and 57th congresses (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903).

On February 19, 1903, Morris was nominated by President Theodore Roosevelt to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota created by 32 Stat. 795. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 9, 1903, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on June 30, 1923, and moved to Pasadena, California, serving in that capacity until his death in Rochester, Minnesota on December 16, 1924. His remains are interred in Forest Hill Cemetery, Duluth, Minnesota.

Sources

• Page Morris at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• United States Congress. "Page Morris (id: M000986)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.