Potter Stewart, born on January 23, 1915 in Jackson, Michigan, was an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. His father, James Garfield Stewart, was an Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. Stewart served in World War II in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Though his political background was with the Ohio Republican party, Stewart was considered a key swing-vote as a result of his demonstrated centrism upon his appointment. To his chagrin, Stewart is best remembered for a quote attributable to Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964) in which his opinion on obscenity in media is reduced to “I know it when I see it.” Stewart died on December 7, 1985 in Hanover, New Hampshire. Potter Stewart was made a Great Ohioan in 2016.
Photo courtesy of the Supreme Court of Ohio.