Abe Fortas Named by Johnson to U.S. Supreme Court; Succeeds Goldberg

President Johnson today announced the appointment of Abe Fortas as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by Arthur J. Goldberg. Mr. Fortas, a prominent lawyer, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he considers him self to be Jewish. He said this to clarify his own conception of his religious identity in view of his lack of formal affiliation with Jewish institutions or organizations.

Although he is not affiliated formally with any Jewish group, Mr. Fortas is known as a contributor to the United Jewish Appeal in Washington. He was born in Memphis, Tenn., on June 19, 1910, and was sent by his Jewish parents to study first at South-western University and later at Yale University. He came to Washington to work as an attorney in agencies of President Roosevelt’s New Deal Administration.

Mr. Fortas, a close personal friend of President Johnson, served under Presidents Roosevelt and Truman as Undersecretary of the Interior. He has been interested in problems of civil liberties and was a member of the President’s Committee on Equal Employment in the Armed Forces. He is also a member of the National Citizens Committee for Community Relations.

He served as adviser to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations in 1945. He was a professor of law at Yale University and is perhaps best known as a member of the prominent Washington law firm of Arnold, Fortas and Porter.

In announcing the appointment of Mr. Fortas, the President referred to his scholarly and humane qualities, his feelings toward fellow-men and his championship of individual liberties. The President said that his own high opinion of Mr. Fortas was shared by leaders of the Bar and other elements of national life. The President said he was glad Mr. Fortas had accepted the appointment and that “the job has sought the man.”