John Biggs, Jr.

Who was John Biggs, Jr.?

John Biggs, Jr. was a United States federal judge.

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Biggs was a private in the United States Army Ordnance and Tank Corps during World War I, from 1917 to 1918. He received a Lit.B. from Princeton University in 1918, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1922. He was in private practice in Wilmington from 1922 to 1937, serving as a civilian aide to Secretary of War for Delaware from 1923 to 1937, and as a Referee in Bankruptcy for the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware from 1924 to 1932.

On February 3, 1937, Biggs was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a new seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit created by 49 Stat. 1903. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 10, 1937, and received his commission on February 16, 1937. He served as chief judge from 1948 to 1965, assuming senior status on October 30, 1965, and serving in that capacity until his death, in 1979, in Wilmington.