Biography of Thurgood Marshall

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Recommended: The importance of Thurgood Marshall during the civil rights movement

Why was Thurgood Marshall Famous?
Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908, in Baltimore, MD. He was born to his Mother Norma Marshall and Father William Marshall. In his lifetime he was a civil Right Activist, Lawyer, Circuit Court Judge & Solicitor General, and a Supreme Justice. He died at the age 84 on January 24, 1993. He was married twice in his lifetime first to Vivien "Buster" Burey till her death in 1955 then to Cecilia Suyat till his death. He had two sons by his second wife Thurgood Marshall. Jr and John W. Marshall.
Thurgood Marshall attended Frederick Douglass High School and graduated with an above average in 1926. Three years later he got married to his first wife Vivian Burey in September 4, 1929 at the age of 21. He attended Lincoln University College in 1930. He graduated in 1933 with honors. After college he applied to university of Maryland law school, Even though he was over qualified academically he was still denied because of his race. He then applied to Howard Law School it’s a Historically Black school.
Once he graduated from law school, Marshall attempted to establish his own practice but wasn’t able because he had no experience and failed to receive any cases. Thurgood then began working for the Baltimore Branch of the National Association the advancement of colored people in 1934. In one of his first cases Marshall defended Donald Murray. He was denied acceptance into University Of Maryland Law. Marshall and Charles Houston won Murray v. Pearson in January 1935. Marshall biggest case as lawyer was the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
Thurgood was appointed director counsel for NAACP in 1939. In 1940 thurgood prepared his first Supreme Court brief the Chambers v. Florida the NAACP sought to o...

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... – Thurgood Marshall
14. "None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody—a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns—bent down and helped us pick up our boots."
– Thurgood Marshall
15. "Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds."
– Thurgood Marshall
16. "The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis."
– Thurgood Marshall

Resources/Bibliography

1. Thurgood Marshall." 2014. The Biography Channel website. Mar 03 2014, 05:26 http://www.biography.com/people/thurgood-marshall-9400241.

2. Aldred, Lisa. Thurgood Marshall. New York: Chelsea House, 1990. Print.

3 "Thurgood Marshall Quotes." Brain Quotes. 17 Mar. 2014 .

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