Henderson M. Somerville

Henderson Middleton Somerville (March 23, 1837 – September 15, 1915) was a professor, associate justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and a member of the Board of General Appraisers, which was the predecessor of the United States Court of International Trade.

Education and career

Somerville was born on March 23, 1837, in Madison County, Virginia, but his family moved to Alabama in his infancy. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1856 from University of Alabama. Somerville received a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1859 from the Cumberland School of Law (then part of Cumberland University, now part of Samford University). He entered private practice in Memphis, Tennessee from 1859 to 1862. Somerville was the editor of Memphis Appeal from 1859 to 1862. He was an associate professor at the University of Alabama from 1862 to 1865. He worked in private practice in Tuscaloosa, Alabama from 1865 to 1873. He became Chair of constitutional, statutory and common law at the University of Alabama in 1873, effectively establishing the University of Alabama School of Law,

Notable opinion

While serving on the Alabama Supreme Court, Somerville authored the opinion in the case of Parsons v. State, "which announced the modern doctrine of insanity as a disease of the brain", which "was met with great acclaim in both the medical and legal communities".

Federal judicial service

Somerville was nominated by President Benjamin Harrison on July 17, 1890, to the Board of General Appraisers, to a new seat created by 26 Stat. 131. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 18, 1890, and received his commission on July 22, 1890. He served as president from 1910 to 1914. His service terminated on September 15, 1915, due to his death in Edgemere, New York. He was succeeded by William C. Adamson.