John Griffith Davies (17 May 1929 – 24 March 2020) was an Australian-American swimmer and United States federal judge. As a breaststroke swimmer of the 1940s and 1950s, he won a gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, set a world record in the 200 yard breaststroke (short course) and tied the world record in the 200 m breaststroke (long course). After retiring from competition swimming, he became a lawyer in California and, after becoming a naturalized American, was appointed a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, and presided over the federal trial of the Los Angeles Police Department officers charged with assaulting Rodney King.
John G. Davies
California Central District Court
Born 1929 in Sydney, Australia
Died 2020 in Pasadena, CA
FJC ID: 567
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, Beverly Hills, California1972–1986
- Private practice, Los Angeles, California1961–1972
Appointments
1986–1998 · Appointed by Ronald Reagan (Republican)Term ended: Retirement
Education
- University of California, Los Angeles, School of LawLL.B. · 1959
- University of MichiganB.A. · 1953