STORY, Joseph, American jurist: b. Mar blehead, Mass., 18 Sept. 1779; d. Cambridge, Mass., 10 Sept. 1845. He was graduated from Harvard in 1798, and afterward studied law. In 1808 he entered Congress, in 1811 became speaker of the Massachusetts State legislature, and soon after was appointed a judge of the United States Supreme Court. In 1829 he be came first Dane professor of law at Harvard, a position which he held for the rest of his life, while he still continued to serve as judge of the Supreme Court. He was strongly op posed to slavery, and for this reason he was very unpopular where the slavery sentiment prevailed. As a judge of the Supreme Court he made a mark for himself and helped to largely mold American equity jurisprudence. Many editions of his law works have been published, and they are still consulted. His law works include special treatises, commen taries and judgments. A collection of his mis
cellaneous writings was published in 1852. Among the legal works are 'On the Law of Bailments' (1832) ; 'On the Constitution of the United States' (1833) ; (On Equity Jurispru dence, as Administered in England and America' (1836) ; 'On the Law of Agency' (1839) ; 'On the Law of Partnership' (1841) ; 'On the Law of Bills of Exchange' (1843), and others. In his constitutional opinions he was of the school of Washington and Chief Justice Marshall, advocating just powers for the Union without encroachment upon the rights of the respective States. His judgments in the Supreme Court may be found in the reports (1811-45) of Wheaton. Cranch, Howard and Peters. Consult 'Life and Letters' (1851) by his son William Wetmore Story (q.v.).