John Varnum Spalding (1897 – July 16, 1979)[1] was a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1944 to 1971. He was appointed by Governor Leverett Saltonstall.[2]
Born in Newton, Massachusetts,[1][3] Spalding attended the public schools there, and served in the United States Army during World War I, achieving the rank of second lieutenant in the infantry.[3] He received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1920,[3] and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1923.[1][3] He worked in private practice until 1926, when he became Assistant United States Attorney until 1929.[3] He then returned to private practice, and was also a lecturer at the Northeastern University School of Law, and a member of the Massachusetts judicial council.[3]
On February 17, 1942, Governor Saltonstall appointed Spalding to a seat on the Massachusetts Superior Court,[2] vacated by the retirement of Justice Charles Donahue.[3] Spalding served for 27 years, until his retirement.[1]
In 1930, Spalding married Jacqueline Veen of Bordeaux, France,[4] with whom he had two children.[3] She became "a prominent member of Boston's French community" and died in 1977.[4]
Spalding died in Newton at the age of 81, following a lengthy illness.[1]
