William LeBaron Putnam (May 26, 1835 - February 5, 1918) was a lawyer and politician in Maine and later served as a federal appellate judge. Putnam graduated from Bowdoin College and was admitted to the Maine Bar after "reading law." He worked as a lawyer in private practice in Portland, Maine from 1858 to 1891. Putnam served as a city council member in Portland in 1860-61, a member of the board of aldermen in 1862, and as Mayor of Portland in 1869-70. In 1888, he was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for both United States Representative from Maine and Governor of Maine. In 1891, President Benjamin Harrison nominated Putnam to be the first judge of the newly created United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, headquartered in Boston. Putnam was confirmed by the Senate and took office in March 1892. He served as a judge until retiring in September 1917, and died the following year.
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This article incorporates text obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of Federal Judges compiled by the Federal Judicial Center.
