William Harrison Holly was a United States federal judge

United States federal judge

In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

.

Born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

Bellefonte is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Holly read law to enter the bar in 1891. He was in private practice in Macomb, Illinois

Macomb, Illinois

Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois southwest of Galesburg. The population was 18,588 at the 2000 census. Macomb is the home of Western Illinois University.- Geography :...

 from 1891 to 1902, and then in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 until 1914. He was an assistant state's attorney of Cook County, Illinois

Cook County, Illinois

Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...

 from 1914 to 1916, thereafter returning to private practice in Chicago until 1933.

On November 8, 1933, Holly received a recess appointment

Recess appointment

A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...

 from Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois....

 vacated by George A. Carpenter. Formally nominated on January 8, 1934, Holly was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on February 20, 1934, and received commission on March 1, 1934. He assumed senior status

Senior status

Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...

 on December 31, 1943, and served in that capacity until his death, in 1958.

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