Nathan Cayton

Nathan Cayton (January 15, 1899 in Washington, D.C. Cayton attended Central High School, graduating in 1916, and received a scholarship to the National University School of Law, graduating in 1918, He was sworn in on February 16, 1927, by judge George C. Aukam. While on the Municipal Court, Cayton helped institute the District of Columbia small claims court.

In 1930, Cayton controversially claimed that there was a "Jewish crime wave" in a statement condemned by the American Jewish Committee.

In 1942, Cayton was appointed by president Franklin D. Roosevelt to become a member of the newly-formed District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and was appointed to the position of chief judge by president Harry S. Truman four years later. He remained civically active, including as a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators and a member of the executive committee of the American Arbitration Association, and filling in for judge vacancies.

Cayton never married, and never had any children. He died on February 12, 1977, five years after he suffered a heart attack.