John E. Bird was a member of the Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan Supreme Court

The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...

 from 1910-1928.

Bird was born in Clayton, Michigan

Clayton, Michigan

Clayton is a village in Lenawee County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 326. The village is situated on the boundary between Hudson Township on the west and Dover Township on the east, with a portion of the village in each.M-34 Clayton is a village...

. Bird graduated from Adrian College

Adrian College

Adrian College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college related to the United Methodist Church in the city of Adrian, Michigan.-Campus:The school is approximately a 45-minute drive from Ann Arbor and Toledo, Ohio, and 90 minutes from Detroit...

. He was admitted to the bar and in 1894 was elected prosecuting attorney for Lenawee County

Lenawee County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 98,890 people, 35,930 households, and 26,049 families residing in the county. The population density was 132 people per square mile . There were 39,769 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile...

. He served in this position until 1899.

In 1905 Bird was elected the Attorney General. He served in this position until 1910. While in this position he was involved in litigation over the methods of taxing the railroad.

Bird was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court by governor Fred Warner. He managed to be re-elected to the court three times, and was still serving on the court at the time of his death.

Sources

• bio of Bird