Edward J. Devitt (Edward James), 1911-

Dates:

Birth 1911

Biographical notes:

Devitt was born in St. Paul, May 5, 1911, the son of Thomas P. and Ethel (McGuire) Devitt. He attended St. Paul public schools until the death of his father in 1921, at which time the family moved to East Grand Forks, Minnesota. While attending school in St. Paul he was a classmate of Warren Burger and Harry Blackmun, who both later became justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. From 1926 to 1932 he attended St. John's Preparatory School and University (Collegeville, Minnesota) and from 1932 to 1935 he attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks where he received his law degree.

His legal career began in 1935 with his election as an East Grand Forks municipal judge (1935-1939). He was later appointed an assistant Minnesota attorney general (1939-1942), a Ramsey County probate judge (1950-1954); and a U.S. district judge (1954-1992).

Devitt was elected to the Fourth Congressional District seat in 1946 and lost it in 1948 to Eugene J. McCarthy. He served as a lieutenant commander to the Seventh Fleet in U.S. Navy intelligence during World War II (1942-1946). Devitt married Marcelle LaRose MacRae of Mandan, North Dakota on April 22, 1939. He died at the age of 80 in St. Paul on March 2, 1992.

Biographical information was taken from the collection.

From the guide to the Edward J. Devitt Papers., 1925-1992., (Minnesota Historical Society)