Samuel Maxwell Harrington

Professional career

• Samuel Maxwell Harrington (1803 – 1865) was a prominent Delaware jurist who held the role of a justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, chief justice, and chancellor of the Court of Chancery, and is remembered for his judicial leadership and abolitionist stance
• 1830–1839, 1855–1857: Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court
• Chief Justice (again): April 3, 1855
• Chief Justice: Appointed October 16, 1830, until a constitutional change; reappointed by Governor David Hazzard, seated January 18, 1832

Education

Additional information

• Chancellor of the Court of Chancery: May 4, 1857, serving until his death in 1865
• He trained in law under leading attorneys Henry M. Ridgely and Martin W. Bates, was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1826, and began private practice in Dover
• He studied at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, graduating in 1823 with top honors.
• Harrington was born February 5, 1803, in Dover, Kent County, Delaware, to Richard Harrington and Sarah Maxwell.
• Known for preserving English common law traditions while adapting to Delaware’s evolving legal framework