Preceded by Charles McAvoy Preceded by Oliver Dickinson | Governor George Earle Name Guy Bard Resigned July 16, 1952 Preceded by Charles Margiotti Died November 23, 1953 | |
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Education Franklin & Marshall College | ||
Guy Kurtz Bard (October 24, 1895 – November 23, 1953) was a Pennsylvania educator who later became a judge of United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1939 until 1952, when he resigned to be the Pennsylvania Democratic candidate for the United States Senate.
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Early life, education, and career
Bard was born the son of Silas E. and Miranda S. Kurtz. He graduated from Millersville State Normal School, and Franklin & Marshall College in 1916. He was a school teacher and principal in Lancaster County schools.
Bard served in the United States Army at the end of World War I, from 1918–19, and he then returned to school and received an LL.B. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1922. He was a lawyer in private practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from 1922 to 1939 and served as chair of the Lancaster County Democratic Party, from 1925–34.
In 1930, Bard was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, and was a Pennsylvania delegate to the 1932 Democratic National Convention. He became the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1937, but resigned almost immediately to become a commissioner for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. He then served as Attorney General from 1938-39.
Federal judicial service
On December 20, 1939, Bard received a recess appointment from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated by Oliver Booth Dickinson. Formally nominated on April 4, 1940, Bard was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 24, 1940, and received commission on April 29, 1940. Bard resigned from the court on July 16, 1952 to run for the U.S. Senate. Unsuccessful in that effort, Bard returned to private practice until his death the following year.
Death and legacy
Bard is interred at Fairview Cemetery, Denver, Pennsylvania.
The Guy Kurtz Bard Award is given at Millersville University to a senior political science major in even-numbered years and to a senior history major in odd-numbered years for outstanding ability in political science and history.
The Guy K Bard Educational Fund is a non-profit organization, based in Ephrata.
The Guy K Bard Democratic Club is based in Ephrata.
Bard Hall at Millersville University is named after him.