Wilson McCandless

Born in Pittsburgh on June 19, 1810, he studied at Western University of Pennsylvania, now the University of Pittsburgh, and then read law before entering private practice in 1831. He worked as an attorney in Pittsburgh for decades, building the legal career that would define his public life.

In 1859, President James Buchanan appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was confirmed quickly and served on the federal bench until his retirement in 1876. He also served in the Pennsylvania State Senate, showing how closely law and politics were connected in his era.

He died in Pittsburgh on June 30, 1882. McCandless is still remembered in western Pennsylvania; McCandless Township was named in his honor, a small sign of the influence he had in the region during the nineteenth century.