William Eli Baker
Appointed by President Warren G. Harding in 1921 and confirmed by unknown vote, William Eli Baker was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. He earned a law degree from West Virginia University in 1896. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1873–1954
- Appointed by
- Warren G. Harding, 1921
- Confirmed
- by unknown vote
- Chief judge
- Northern District of West Virginia, 1948 to 1954
- Education
- West Virginia Conference Seminary (now West Virginia Wesleyan College) 1893 · West Virginia 1896
- Succeeded
- Alston Gordon Dayton
- Succeeded by
- Herbert Stephenson Boreman
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | Northern District of West Virginia succeeded Alston Gordon Dayton chief judge 1948 to 1954 | Harding (R) | Unknown |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
A per-senator roll-call isn’t shown for this confirmation. The Senate’s recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989; many confirmations (especially before then, and most to the lower courts) were by voice vote or unanimous consent.
Education
| West Virginia Conference Seminary (now West Virginia Wesleyan College) | B.S. | 1893 |
| West Virginia University | A.B., LL.B. | 1896 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Private practice, Elkins, West Virginia | 1896-1921 |
| Special counsel, U.S. Sen. S. B. Elkins of West Virginia | |
| Special counsel, U.S. Sen. H. G. Davis of West Virginia | |
| Prosecutor, Randolph County, West Virginia | 1900-1912 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Baker authored 11 published opinions for the court (1930–1952). Most cited: Brady v. Interstate Commerce Commission (21 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Brady v. Interstate Commerce Commission | 43 F.2d 847 | 21 |
| 1937 | In Re Rogers | 20 F. Supp. 120 | 12 |
| 1944 | Hall v. Montgomery Ward & Co. | 57 F. Supp. 430 | 9 |
| 1936 | Baltimore & OR Co. v. Board of Public Works | 17 F. Supp. 170 | 8 |
| 1935 | Household Finance Corp. v. Household Finance Corp. | 11 F. Supp. 3 | 8 |
| 1952 | Westinghouse Electric Corp. v. Bulldog Electric Products Co. | 106 F. Supp. 819 | 6 |
| 1943 | United States v. Carolene Products Co. | 51 F. Supp. 675 | 6 |
| 1941 | Baltimore & OR Co. v. Clem | 36 F. Supp. 703 | 5 |
| 1937 | Akro Agate Co. v. Master Marble Co. | 18 F. Supp. 305 | 4 |
| 1942 | Fostoria Glass Co. v. Yoke | 45 F. Supp. 962 | 3 |
| 1940 | Baltimore & O. R. Co. v. Bole | 31 F. Supp. 221 | 3 |
Showing the 11 most-cited of 11 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 William Eli Baker?
- President Warren G. Harding appointed William Eli Baker to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in 1921.
- Was William Eli Baker appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Eli Baker was appointed by President Warren G. Harding, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- Which court was William Eli Baker on?
- William Eli Baker was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: The Wheeling Intelligencer (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
33 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).