Judges
Although any district court judge could be authorized to act as a circuit judge, only fifty judges solely designated as circuit court judges were ever appointed. These can be broadly categorized into four groups:
- Judges appointed pursuant to the Midnight Judges Act on or after February 20, 1801, and thereafter removed from office with the repeal of that Act on July 1, 1802.
- Judges appointed to the D.C. Circuit, abolished on March 3, 1863
- Judges appointed after 1869 pursuant to the Circuit Judges Act of 1869; those in office on June 16, 1891 were transferred to the newly created United States courts of appeals by operation of law, that is, without action on the part of the President.
- One judge appointed to the California circuit, established in 1855 and abolished on March 3, 1863.
Three circuit court judges, Samuel M. Blatchford, David Josiah Brewer, and William Burnham Woods, were later appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
Circuit court judges appointed pursuant to the Midnight Judges Act:
| Judge | Circuit | Began service | Ended service | Appointed by |
| Richard Bassett | Third | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| Egbert Benson | Second | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| Benjamin Bourne | First | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| Joseph Clay, Jr. | Fifth | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| William Griffith | Third | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| Dominic Augustin Hall | Fifth | January 26, 1802 | July 1, 1802 | Thomas Jefferson |
| Edward Harris | Fifth | May 3, 1802 | July 1, 1802 | Thomas Jefferson |
| Samuel Hitchcock | Second | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| Henry Potter | Fifth | January 26, 1802 | April 7, 1802 | Thomas Jefferson |
| Philip Barton Key | Fourth | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| John A. Lowell | First | February 20, 1801 | May 6, 1802 | John Adams |
| Charles Magill | Fourth | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| Jeremiah Smith | First | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| George Keith Taylor | Fourth | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| William McClung | Sixth | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| William Tilghman | Third | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
| Oliver Wolcott, Jr. | Second | February 20, 1801 | July 1, 1802 | John Adams |
Judges of the D.C. Circuit:
| Judge | Circuit | Began service | Ended service | Appointed by |
| Allen Bowie Duckett | D.C. | March 17, 1806 | July 19, 1809 | Thomas Jefferson |
| James Dunlop | D.C. | February 3, 1846 November 27, 1855 |
November 27, 1855 March 3, 1863 |
James K. Polk Franklin Pierce (as chief judge) |
| William Cranch | D.C. | February 28, 1801 February 24, 1806 |
February 24, 1806 September 1, 1855 |
John Adams Thomas Jefferson (as chief judge) |
| Nicholas Battalle Fitzhugh | D.C. | November 25, 1803 | December 31, 1814 | Thomas Jefferson |
| James Markham Marshall | D.C. | March 3, 1801 | November 16, 1803 | John Adams |
| William Kilty | D.C. | January 26, 1802 | January 27, 1806 | Thomas Jefferson (as chief judge) |
| William Matthew Merrick | D.C. | December 14, 1855 | March 3, 1863 | Franklin Pierce |
| James Sewall Morsell | D.C. | January 11, 1815 | March 3, 1863 | James Madison |
| Buckner Thruston | D.C. | December 14, 1809 | August 30, 1845 | James Madison |
Circuit court judges appointed pursuant to the 1869 Act:
| Judge | Circuit | Began service | Ended service | Appointed by |
| Marcus Wilson Acheson | Third | February 3, 1891 | June 16, 1891 | Benjamin Harrison |
| John Baxter | Sixth | December 13, 1877 | April 2, 1886 | Rutherford B. Hayes |
| Samuel M. Blatchford | Second | March 4, 1878 | March 22, 1882 | Rutherford B. Hayes |
| Hugh Lennox Bond | Fourth | July 13, 1870 | June 16, 1891 | Ulysses Grant |
| David Josiah Brewer | Eighth | March 31, 1884 | January 6, 1890 | Chester A. Arthur |
| Henry Clay Caldwell | Eighth | March 4, 1890 | June 16, 1891 | Benjamin Harrison |
| LeBaron Bradford Colt | First | July 5, 1884 | June 16, 1891 | Chester A. Arthur |
| John Forrest Dillon | Eighth | December 22, 1869 | September 1, 1879 | Ulysses Grant |
| Thomas Drummond | Seventh | December 22, 1869 | July 18, 1884 | Ulysses Grant |
| Halmer Hull Emmons | Sixth | January 17, 1870 | May 14, 1877 | Ulysses Grant |
| Walter Quintin Gresham | Seventh | December 9, 1884 | June 16, 1891 | Chester A. Arthur |
| Howell Edmunds Jackson | Sixth | April 12, 1886 | June 16, 1891 | Grover Cleveland |
| Alexander Smith Johnson | Second | December 15, 1875 | January 26, 1878 | Ulysses Grant |
| Emile Henry Lacombe | Second | February 28, 1888 | June 16, 1891 | Grover Cleveland |
| John Lowell | First | December 18, 1878 | May 1, 1884 | Rutherford B. Hayes |
| George Washington McCrary | Eighth | December 9, 1879 | March 18, 1884 | Rutherford B. Hayes |
| William McKennan | Third | December 22, 1869 | January 3, 1891 | Ulysses Grant |
| Don Albert Pardee | Fifth | May 13, 1881 | June 16, 1891 | James A. Garfield |
| Lorenzo Sawyer | Ninth | January 10, 1870 | June 16, 1891 | Ulysses Grant |
| George Foster Shepley | First | December 22, 1869 | July 20, 1878 | Ulysses Grant |
| William James Wallace | Second | April 6, 1882 | June 16, 1891 | Chester A. Arthur |
| Lewis Bartholomew Woodruff | Second | December 22, 1869 | September 10, 1875 | Ulysses Grant |
| William Burnham Woods | Fifth | December 22, 1869 | December 23, 1880 | Ulysses Grant |
Circuit court judge of California:
| Judge | Circuit | Began service | Ended service | Appointed by |
| Matthew Hall McAllister | California | March 3, 1855 | January 12, 1863 | Franklin Pierce |
Read more about this topic: United States Circuit Court
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—Samuel Richardson (1689–1761)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)