William LeBaron Putnam (May 26, 1835 – February 5, 1918) was an American lawyer and politician in Maine. Putnam served as Mayor of Portland from 1869 to 1870 and later served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and of the United States Circuit Courts for the First Circuit.
William LeBaron Putnam
Born 1835 in Bath, ME
Died 1918 in Portland, ME
FJC ID: 1948
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 19/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 74/year
U.S. Circuit Courts for the First Circuit · 1892–1911First Circuit Court of Appeals · 1892–1917
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, Portland, Maine1858–1891
- Commissioner to negotiate American fishing rights in Canada1887–1888
- Portland, MaineMayor · 1869–1870
- Portland, MaineAlderman · 1862
- Portland, MaineCity councilman · 1860–1861
Appointments
1892–1911 · Appointed by Benjamin Harrison (Republican)Term ended: Abolition of Court- 1892–1917 · Appointed by Benjamin Harrison (Republican)Term ended: Retirement
Education
- Read law1858
- Bowdoin CollegeA.B. · 1855