W. H. Seward Thomson
Appointed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914 and confirmed by voice vote, W. H. Seward Thomson was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1856–1932
- Appointed by
- Woodrow Wilson, 1914
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Succeeded
- James Scott Young
- Succeeded by
- Nelson McVicar
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Western District of Pennsylvania succeeded James Scott Young | Wilson (D) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| Washington and Jefferson College | ||
| Marshall College (now Marshall University) | ||
| Read law | 1880 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Thomson authored 17 published opinions for the court (1924–1931). Most cited: Rea v. Heiner (19 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | Rea v. Heiner | 6 F.2d 389 | 19 |
| 1928 | Emery v. United States | 27 F.2d 992 | 14 |
| 1926 | Selden v. Heiner | 12 F.2d 474 | 14 |
| 1931 | Neon Signal Devices, Inc. v. Alpha-Claude Neon Corp. | 54 F.2d 793 | 13 |
| 1927 | United States v. Whyel | 19 F.2d 260 | 13 |
| 1924 | United States v. Davison | 1 F.2d 465 | 11 |
| 1929 | Monsanto Chemical Works v. Jaeger | 31 F.2d 188 | 9 |
| 1925 | McDowell v. Heiner | 9 F.2d 120 | 9 |
| 1927 | Haugh & Keenan Storage & Transfer Co. v. Heiner | 20 F.2d 921 | 7 |
| 1926 | Henderson v. Plymouth Oil Co. | 13 F.2d 932 | 7 |
| 1926 | New York Life Ins. Co. v. Sisson | 19 F.2d 410 | 6 |
| 1926 | Phillips v. United States | 12 F.2d 598 | 6 |
| 1928 | Pennsylvania Chocolate Co. v. Lewellyn | 27 F.2d 762 | 5 |
| 1927 | Herron v. Heiner | 24 F.2d 745 | 5 |
| 1927 | In Re Perelstine | 19 F.2d 408 | 3 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 17 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed W. H. Seward Thomson?
- President Woodrow Wilson appointed W. H. Seward Thomson to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1914.
- Was W. H. Seward Thomson appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- W. H. Seward Thomson was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was W. H. Seward Thomson's confirmation vote?
- W. H. Seward Thomson was confirmed by voice vote on July 21, 1914. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was W. H. Seward Thomson on?
- W. H. Seward Thomson was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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18 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).