Frank Murphy was a Mayor of Detroit, Supreme Court Justice, U.S. Attorney General, and Governor of Michigan. He had a major role in the formation of the United Auto Workers Union.
what can i see today?
The Frank Murphy Memorial Museum is an historical complex containing the family home and law office of one of the most famous people in Michigan history. Address: 142 South Huron Avenue, Harbor Beach, MI 48441 Phone: (989) 479-6477 (989) 479-3363 Website: www.harborbeach.com/frank-murphy-memorial-museum
the story
Frank Murphy was born in Sand Beach(now Harbor Beach) in 1890. After graduating from Harbor Beach High School he earned a law degree from the University of Michigan and then enlisted in the military during World War I and served in France.
After the war he began his long public career first serving as First Assistant U.S. District Attorney for Eastern Michigan. Soon after he became a Recorder's Court Judge in Detroit which was a position he held for six years. Murphy was the Mayor of Detroit from 1930-1933 and his efforts caught the attention of President Roosevelt. In 1933 he was offered the position of Governor General of the Philippines which he accepted and later ran for Governor of Michigan at FDR's request. In this new position he presided over the historic General Motors Sit-Down Strike of 1937. After several weeks of deliberation, the strike ended and the document that was generated became the charter for the United Auto Workers. The table where the document was signed is on display at the museum.
Frank's next position was as the U.S. Attorney General where he created the first Civil Rights section. Finally in 1940 he was appointed to the Supreme Court where he served until his death in 1949. The building in Detroit named after him, known as the "Frank Murphy Hall of Justice", houses the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan.
