Thomas F. Gallagher

Thomas F. Gallagher (November 24, 1897 in Faribault, Minnesota – March 3, 1985) was a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1943 until his retirement in 1967. Early life and education Gallagher attended St. Thomas Academy, then located in Saint Paul, Minnesota (1912–1914) but graduated from Faribault High School in 1915 (it is not clear why he left St. Thomas). He earned his B.A. in 1919 from the University of Minnesota after having interrupted his schooling in 1918 to serve as a commissioned officer in the United States Field Artillery. In 1921 he was graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School with an LL.B. He practiced law in Minneapolis from 1921 until 1942, at first with his uncle, John E. Tappan, the founder of Investors Diversified Services, Inc. ("IDS," then called the Investors Syndicate) now called Ameriprise Financial, Inc. In 1929, Judge Gallagher opened his own law office in Minneapolis, where he practiced until 1942. Career In 1936, Judge Gallagher was the Democratic Party's candidate for the office of Attorney General. He led the Minnesota campaign for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, speaking from a sound truck-trailer on street corners in more than 400 Minnesota villages, towns and cities. In 1938, he was the Democratic Party's candidate for Governor of Minnesota. This was prior to the merger of the Democratic and Farmer Labor parties, now known as the DFL. The Farmer-Labor, and Republican Party candidates received a higher percentage of the vote, than the Democratic candidates for most statewide offices at the time. In 1939 and 1940 Gallagher led a drive promoting the merger of the two parties. Judge Gallagher promoted the ideas and platform of the national Democratic Party, but also was one of the first to espouse merger of the two liberal state political parties. In 1940 he served as Minnesota delegate at large at the Democratic national convention in Chicago. The Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party did eventually merge on April 15, 1944. Shortly before he died, Franklin D. Roosevelt had appointed Judge Gallagher to serve on the United States District Court, but U.S. Senator Joseph H. Ball, blocked the appointment. Senator Ball was a political ally of fellow Republican Harold Stassen, and disapproved of the domestic policies of F.D.R. and his successor, Harry S.