Preceded by Benjamin R. Jones Education University of Scranton | Alma mater St. Thomas College Succeeded by Henry X. O'Brien | |
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Born May 9, 1907 ( 1907-05-09 ) Died 5 June 1987, Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Michael J. Eagen (May 9, 1907 – July 7, 1987) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from 1959 to 1977 and Chief Justice from 1977 to 1980.
Biography
Michael J. Eagen was born on May 9, 1907, and spent his childhood in Jermyn, Pennsylvania. He earned an undergraduate degree in 1927 at St. Thomas College in Scranton, Pennsylvania, before enrolling at Harvard Law School. Eagen left Harvard after one semester to return home and assist his family, as his mother had lost the family business. He enrolled in a law course in Philadelphia and subsequently passed the bar exam and was admitted to practice.
Shortly after his admission to the bar, at age 26, Eagen was elected District Attorney of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania in 1933, and served in this role until becoming a Lackawanna County judge in 1941; he was the youngest judge in county history, at 34 years old. After 18 years as a county judge, Eagen was elected in 1959 to a 21-year term on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. After 18 years as an Associate Justice, Eagen became Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1977, serving in this role until his retirement from the bench in 1980. Eagen died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1987.