1784-1860

Peter Vivian Daniel (April 24, 1784 – May 31, 1860), was an American jurist. more...

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Daniel was born in Stafford County, Virginia, in 1784 to a family of old colonial heritage. He was educated at home, and attended the College of New Jersey for one year before returning to Virginia. He read law under former Attorney General of the United States Edmund Randolph in Richmond, and was admitted to the bar in 1808. Daniel married Randolph's daughter.

In 1809, Daniel was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, and in 1812 became a member of the advisory Virginia Privy Council. He remained on the Council and in 1818 was elected Lieutenant Governor. He would retain both of these positions until 1836, when president Andrew Jackson appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Daniel was nominated to the United States Supreme Court in 1841 by Martin Van Buren, near the end of van Buren's term. He remained on the court until his death in 1860.

Daniel was not a particularly notable justice, authoring only one significant opinion for the court in his 18 years. He sided with the majority in the Dred Scott case, as well as in Jones v. Van Zandt, which affirmed the legality of the Fugitive Slave Act.

Further reading: Justice Daniel Dissenting: A Biography of Peter V. Daniel, 1784-1860 by John P. Frank (Harvard University Press 1964 ISBN 0-678-08028-3)

Read more at Wikipedia.org