William Langdon

William Henry Langdon (September 25, 1873 – August 10, 1939) was an American banker, lawyer and Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court from January 4, 1927, to August 10, 1939. Education and early career Langdon was born near Dublin, Alameda County, California, to Irish immigrants William and Annie Langdon. Following the death of Langdon's father in 1875, his mother ran a cattle and wheat ranch. Langdon was educated in the public schools and Hayward High School. He graduated from the California State Normal School to become a teacher, while also studying law in the offices of future Supreme Court Justice John E. Richards. In 1896, Langdon was admitted to the state Bar. Langdon served as vice principal and principal at schools in San Leandro, Fresno, and San Francisco, eventually becoming the city's school superintendent in 1902. Legal and judicial career In November 1905, city voters elected Langdon as district attorney of San Francisco, and in 1907 re-elected him to a second term. A popular district attorney, Langdon was nominated by the Independence League as its choice for governor in the 1906 elections. Langdon's presence as a strong third party candidacy won over 14 percent of the vote, proving to be a spoiler vote in a tight race between Democrat Theodore A. Bell and Republican James Gillett. In 1907, one year after the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake, Langdon carried out the successful prosecutions both of Mayor Eugene Schmitz and political machine operator Abe Ruef for bribery and extortion, along with special assistants Francis J. Heney, Hiram Johnson and Matt Sullivan.