Bobbitt, William H. (William Haywood), 1900-1992

William Haywood Bobbitt was a lawyer who served as resident judge of the 14th judicial district of North Carolina between 1938 and 1954. In 1954, Bobbitt was appointed associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. In 1969, he was promoted to chief justice of the Court. He retired in 1974.

William Haywood Bobbitt, a lawyer and judge, was born in Baltimore, Md., on 18 October 1900. William's father, J. H. Bobbitt, was a drug salesman who worked for Parke, Davis, and Co. In 1912, the Bobbitt family moved to Charlotte, N.C.

Bobbitt graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1921. He attended UNC Law School for one year, worked with Charlotte lawyer Jon J. Parker, and was admitted to the North Carolina bar in 1922. He became a junior member of the firm of Parker, Stewart, and McRae, and was promoted to full partner in 1930.

In 1938, Bobbitt won election as the Democratic candidate for resident judge of the 14th Judicial District of North Carolina (Charlotte). He was appointed associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1954, and Bobbitt became chief justice of the Court in 1969. He retired in 1974.

In 1924, Bobbitt married Sarah Dunlap, a Charlotte native; they had four children: Sarah, Haywood, Buford, and Harriet. Sarah Bobbitt died in October 1965. William Bobbitt died on 27 September 1992.