Born: May 26, 1911
Louisa County, Virginia

Died: August 1, 1978
Washington, D.C.

Joseph Cornelius Waddy

Judge, U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Nominated by Lyndon B. Johnson on January 16, 1967; Confirmed by the Senate on March 2, 1967, and received commission on March 4, 1967. Service terminated on 8/1/1978, due to death.

Education:
Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, A.B., 1935
Howard University School of Law, LL.B., 1938

Artist
Richard C. Henderson was commissioned in 1978 by Judge George Luzerne Hart, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to paint portraits of both sitting and former judges of the District Court. Mr. Henderson painted portraits of deceased judges by studying black and white photographs and talking with friends and family of the judges. Within a five-year period, he produced 23 portraits. At the conclusion of his commission, Mr. Henderson continued to paint portraits and landscapess. He taught at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, as well as at several private art schools.

Mr. Henderson is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he majored in Art and English. He holds a Master’s degree from Vermont College of Norwich University, which is today the Vermont College of Fine Arts. He studied at the National Academy of Design in New York, working with Daniel Green, a recognized pastelist. Mr. Henderson also studied under Harvey Dinnerstein, one of several artists trained at the Tyler School of Arts at Temple University. Mr. Henderson studied at the Art Students League of New York with Robert Brackman, a Russian artist who become nationally famous after painting the portraits of Charles and Ann Lindbergh, among others.

Professional Career:

Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1939-1962
Associate judge, Domestic Relations Bar, Municipal Court of the District of Columbia, 1962-1967
Adjunct professor, Howard University School of Law, 1966-1967

Howard University Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Washington, D.C.

  • Papers, 1911-1978. 12 cubic ft.; restricted; collection remained unprocessed as of August 1997.

New York Public Library Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, N.Y.

  • Blacks in the railroad industry, 1946-1954; 1 microfilm reel; finding aid; collection includes legal documents from a discrimination suit Waddy and his law firm filed on behalf of black railroad workers.
Judges of the D.C. Circuit Courts