Myron L. Gordon (1918- )

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice (1962-1967)

Myron L. Gordon was born February 11, 1918, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1939. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1942 and was in private law practice in Milwaukee for the next eight years.

Gordon was a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserves from 1944 to 1946. He later became a member of the Disabled American Veterans and was state commander in 1959. He was president of the Milwaukee Hearing Society from 1951 to 1953.

From 1950 to 1954, Gordon was a Milwaukee County civil court judge and a Milwaukee County circuit court judge from 1954 to 1961. He was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1961.

Known as a "picturesque writer, " Gordon occasionally included poetry or Shakespearean references in his opinions. He served on the Supreme Court until 1967, when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him as a federal district court judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Gordon serves as the senior judge.

In 1992, Milwaukee Magazine gave Gordon high ratings for scholarship and decisiveness. "He borders on genius," said one lawyer. "He's able to cut through very complex issues and get to the meat of the issue. He understands the law completely."

In 1998, the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary printed the following: "During trial, lawyers said Gordon runs a tight ship: 'He's the epitome of a judge who rules with an iron fist, but it is a fair fist.'"

Gordon's first wife, Peggy, died in 1973. They had three children: Wendy, John and Polly. He was re-married to Myra in 1979.

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