William Rufus Day (April 17, 1849 – July 9, 1923) was an American diplomat and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1903 to 1922. Prior to his service on the Supreme Court, Day served as United States Secretary of State during the administration of President William McKinley. He also served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the United States Circuit Courts for the Sixth Circuit.
William Rufus Day
Supreme Court of the United States
Born 1849 in Ravenna, OH
Died 1923 in Mackinac Island, MI
FJC ID: 588
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 6/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 219/year
U.S. Circuit Courts for the Sixth Circuit · 1899–1903Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals · 1899–1903Supreme Court of the United States · 1903–1922
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
- Mixed Claims Commission to Adjudicate War Claims against GermanyUmpire · 1922–1923
- Private practice, Canton, Ohio1872–1897, 1899
- U.S. delegation to Paris Peace Conference with SpainChairman · 1898–1899
- Assistant secretary of state1897–1898
- Secretary of State1898
- Ohio Court of Common Pleas, Ninth Judicial DistrictJudge · 1886–1887
Appointments
1903–1922 · Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)Term ended: Retirement
1899–1903 · Appointed by William McKinley (Republican)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position- 1899–1903 · Appointed by William McKinley (Republican)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
- University of Michigan
- Read law1871
- University of MichiganB.S. · 1870