Missouri History Today March 19, 1875: Isaac Parker Becomes A Judge, later known as the “Hanging Judge.”

Missouri Representative Isaac Parker grew up in a politically connected family in Ohio. He then moved to St. Joseph as an adult to work as a lawyer. 

A decade after arriving in western Missouri, he won the Seventh District Congressional seat, which he held for four years. At that time President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him to the US District Court in Arkansas, where he became known as the “Hanging Judge.” His court was referred to as “The Court of the Damned” due to the 160 death sentences he handed down.

Based upon content from the book Missouri 365: This Day in Missouri History by John W. Brown, broadcaster and Missouri historian. Get your copy at Reedy Press.

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