Hanna, Richard H.

Richard H. Hanna. (Scrapbook, Box 10)

Richard Hanna was born in Kankakee, Illinois. on July 31, 1878. His father, Isaac Bird Hanna, served as superintendent of national forests in New Mexico and Arizona from 1900-1905, during which time the Hanna residence was in Santa Fe.

Richard Hanna graduated from Northwestern Academy in 1898. He received his law degree from the University of Colorado in 1903. He then returned to Santa Fe to become a partner of Attorney Francis C. Wilson in 1904. Originally a Republican, Hanna joined Senator Bronson Cutting in the Progressive Party, and was elected as a Progressive to the first NM State Supreme Court, serving from 1912-1919. He unsuccessfully ran for Governor of New Mexico on the Democratic ticket in 1920, and also ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1921.

Following his tenure on the Court, Hanna practiced law as an attorney in Albuquerque, with partners Francis C. Wilson and William Brophy. The firm, Hanna, Wilson, and Brophy took on cases in the areas of civil litigation, water, Indian law, and corporate law. Hanna, recognized for his expertise in Spanish law, Indian affairs, and water rights, served as special attorney for the Pueblo Indians during Woodrow Wilson's administration; he authored the Pueblo Lands Act of 1924 and contributed to settlement of Indian land titles across New Mexico. As special assistant to the attorney general of the United States and guardian of the Walpi Indians in Arizona, Hanna was instrumental in recovering 500,000 acres of land from the Santa Fe and Pacific Railroad for the Walpi. Serving under Secretary of the Interior Ickes, Hanna aided in recovering lands in Alaska for the Eskimos. Hanna carried a lawsuit for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District to the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in the compact between New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado for equitable distribution of Rio Grande waters. Hanna also formulated the adjudication of water rights for settlers along the Pecos River.

Richard H. Hanna married Clara Zimmer in 1905. They had one adopted son, also named Richard. Richard Sr. was a 3rd degree Mason; a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and a prominent member of the Grand Knights Templar. Richard H. Hanna died on August 17, 1946.

Source: New Mexico Historical Review, vol. 21, p. 362-364, 1946.

From the guide to the Richard H. Hanna Papers, 1859-1963, 1929-1946, (Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico.)