Francis Marion Black

Born in Champaign County, Ohio, Black attended a county school and attended Farmer's College. Soon after gaining admission to the bar in 1864, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and entered into the practice of law.[1][2]

He quickly developed a large law practice, and "figured prominently and creditably in a number of instances of exceedingly important litigation".[2] His first public office was as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1875. In 1881, he was elected circuit judge, and was elevated to the state supreme court in 1885. As a justice, his opinions were described as "concise, expressed in terse and vigorous phrases, and manifest a decided inclination to follow adjudged cases". In one case, the court considered one of Black's own previous opinions from his tenure as a circuit judge. When it came before the Supreme Court, all the judges voted to affirm except Black, who filed a brief opinion dissenting from the opinion affirming his previous decision.[2] After his time on the court, he returned to private practice.[1]

Black died at his home in Kansas City at a time when he was planning to step away from his excessive workload.[1]