Born in Lyme, Connecticut, Waite graduated from Yale University and first settled in Maumee, then later Toledo, to practice law. He was a civic leader and President Grant appointed him to serve on the three-member legal team to seek damages from Great Britain in the ALABAMA Claims dispute for losses to American shipping from Confederate raiders built in British shipyards. His success led President Grant to appoint him as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1874. He served until his death in 1888.

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