Who appointed Stanley Matthews?

President James A. Garfield appointed Stanley Matthews to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1881.

Was Stanley Matthews appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Stanley Matthews was appointed by President James A. Garfield, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Stanley Matthews's confirmation vote?

The Senate confirmed Stanley Matthews 24–23 on May 12, 1881.

Supreme Court / Appointed 1881 / Served to 1889

Stanley Matthews

Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States

Appointed by President James A. Garfield in 1881 and confirmed by the Senate 24–23, Stanley Matthews was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Sources ↓

Lived: 1824–1889
Appointed by: James A. Garfield, 1881
Confirmed: 24–23
Education: Kenyon College 1840
Succeeded: Noah Haynes Swayne
Succeeded by: David Josiah Brewer

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1881	Supreme Court succeeded Noah Haynes Swayne	Garfield (R)	24–23

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.

Confirmation vote

The Senate’s published per-senator roll-call records begin in 1989, so no senator-by-senator breakdown is available for this vote.

Education

Kenyon College	B.A.	1840
Read law		1842

Before the bench

Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.

Private practice, Columbia, Tennessee	1842-1844
Editor, Tennessee Democrat	1842-1844
Private practice, Cincinnati, Ohio	1844-1851, 1853-1858, 1865-1877
Clerk, Ohio General Assembly	1848-1851
Judge, Hamilton County [Ohio] Court of Common Pleas	1851-1853
State senator, Ohio	1855-1857
U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio	1858-1861
Twenty-Third Ohio Infantry lieutenant colonel	1861-1862
Fifty-First Ohio Volunteers colonel	1862-1863
Judge, Superior Court of Cincinnati [Ohio]	1863-1865
Counsel for Rutherford B. Hayes before congressional electoral commission	1876
U.S. senator from Ohio	1877-1881

Questions & answers

Who appointed Stanley Matthews?: President James A. Garfield appointed Stanley Matthews to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1881.
Was Stanley Matthews appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Stanley Matthews was appointed by President James A. Garfield, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Stanley Matthews's confirmation vote?: The Senate confirmed Stanley Matthews 24–23 on May 12, 1881.
Which court was Stanley Matthews on?: Stanley Matthews was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Sources

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7 years on the Supreme Court of the United States. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).