William McRae

William Allan McRae Jr. (September 25, 1909 – January 27, 1973) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and was a second team All-American football player for the University of Florida.

Education and career

Born in Marianna, Florida, McRae received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the University of Florida in 1932. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford University in 1933. He received a Juris Doctor from the Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida in 1933. He received a Bachelor of Letters from Oxford University in 1936. He was in private practice of law in Jacksonville, Florida from 1936 to 1940. He was a Professor of Law at the University of Florida from 1940 to 1941. He was in the United States Army Air Corps as a Colonel from 1942 to 1945. He served as an adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the June 1945 San Francisco Conference, which founded the United Nations and drafted the United Nations Charter. He was in private practice of law in Bartow, Florida from 1946 to 1961.

Federal judicial service

McRae was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on February 20, 1961, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida vacated by Judge William J. Barker. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 3, 1961, and received his commission on March 8, 1961. He was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on October 29, 1962, to a new seat established by 76 Stat. 247. He served as Chief Judge from 1971 to 1973. His service was terminated on January 27, 1973, due to his death.