John Milton Killits

John Milton Killits
John Milton Killits
	circa 1917
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
	In office; October 6, 1928 – September 13, 1938
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
	In office; June 24, 1910 – October 6, 1928
Appointed by	William Howard Taft
Preceded by	Seat established by 36 Stat. 202
Succeeded by	George Philip Hahn
Personal details
Born	John Milton Killits; October 7, 1858; Lithopolis, Ohio
Died	September 13, 1938 (aged 79)
Political party	Republican
Education	Williams College (A.B., A.M.); George Washington University Law School (LL.B., LL.M.)
Signature

John Milton Killits (October 7, 1858 – September 13, 1938) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Education and career

Born in Lithopolis, Ohio, Killits received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Williams College in 1880, a Bachelor of Laws from Columbian University School of Law (now George Washington University Law School) in 1885, a Master of Laws from the same institution in 1886, and an Artium Magister degree from Williams College in 1887.^[1] He published a daily and weekly newspaper in Red Oak, Iowa from 1880 to 1883, and worked for the United States Department of War in Washington, D.C., starting March 1884, before becoming private secretary to General William Babcock Hazen, chief signal officer of the United States Army.^[2] He was in private practice in Bryan, Ohio from 1888 to 1904, also working as a prosecuting attorney of Williams County, Ohio from 1893 to 1899. He was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the Third Ohio District from 1905 to 1910.^[1]

On June 21, 1910, Killits was nominated by President William Howard Taft to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio created by 36 Stat. 202. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 24, 1910, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on October 6, 1928, serving in that capacity until his death on September 13, 1938.^[1]

Killits was married to Alice Nourse Steuart, June 21, 1887, in Washington, D.C., and had two daughters.^[2]^[3]

Killits was a member of several Quadrennial General Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church.^[3] He was a Mason, Chi Psi, Phi Delta Phi, Knights of Pythias, and a Republican.^[3]

Killits had hobbies including carpentry, motor boating, the study of sociology and the history of the bible.^[4]

^ ^a ^b ^c John Milton Killits at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
^ ^a ^b Reed, George Irving; Randall, Emilius Oviatt; Greve, Charles Theodore, eds. (1897). Bench and Bar of Ohio: a Compendium of History and Biography. Vol. 2. Chicago: Century Publishing and Engraving Company. pp. 186–188.
^ ^a ^b ^c Neff, William B, ed. (1921). Bench and Bar of Northern Ohio History and Biography. Cleveland: The Historical Publishing Company. pp. 496–497.
^ Winter, Nevin O (1917). A History of Northwest Ohio. Vol. 2. Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 663–664.

Legal offices
Preceded by Seat established by 36 Stat. 202	Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio 1910–1928	Succeeded by George Philip Hahn