William Cather Hook was a United States federal judge

United States federal judge

In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

.

Born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania

Waynesburg, Pennsylvania

Waynesburg is a borough in and the county seat of Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States, southwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 4,184 at the 2000 census....

, Hook received an LL.B. from Washington University School of Law

Washington University School of Law

Washington University School of Law , is a private American law school located in St. Louis, Missouri. The law school is one of the seven graduate and undergraduate schools at Washington University in St. Louis....

 in 1878. He was in private practice in Leavenworth, Kansas

Leavenworth, Kansas

Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

 from 1878 to 1899. He was a city attorney and legal advisor of Leavenworth from 1889 to 1895.

On January 28, 1899, Hook was nominated by President William McKinley

William McKinley

William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...

 to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Kansas

United States District Court for the District of Kansas

The United States District Court for the District of Kansas is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Kansas. The Court operates out of the Robert J. Dole United States Courthouse in Kansas City, the Frank Carlson Federal Building in Topeka, and the United States Courthouse...

 vacated by Cassius G. Foster. Hook was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on January 31, 1899, and received his commission the same day.

On November 10, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

 nominated Hook for elevation to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Arkansas* Western District of Arkansas...

 vacated by Henry Clay Caldwell

Henry Clay Caldwell

Henry Clay Caldwell was a United States federal judge and Union Army officer.-Early years:Caldwell was born in what is now Marshall County, West Virginia, in 1835, in what was then Indian territory, and was largely self-educated, a circumstance credited with the cultivation of a homespun philosophy...

. Hook was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 17, 1903, and received his commission the same day. Hook served in that capacity until his death, in 1921.

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