Harold P. Burke

Who was Harold P. Burke?

Harold P. Burke was a United States federal judge.

Born in Rochester, New York, Burke received an LL.B. from Notre Dame Law School in 1916. After a brief period of service in the United States Army, he was in private practice in Rochester from 1920 to 1931. He was an Assistant state attorney general of New York from 1931 to 1934, and was corporate counsel for the City of Rochester from 1934 to 1937.

On April 27, 1937, Burke was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York vacated by Harlan W. Rippey. Burke was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 15, 1937, and received his commission on June 18, 1937. He served as chief judge from 1955 to 1967, and assumed senior status on June 15, 1981, the 44th anniversary of his appointment to the bench. One of Roosevelt's longest-serving appointees, Burke died, in Rochester, just over a month after stepping down.