Los Angeles
County
Biographies
RICHARD
LOOMIS NORTH
Richard Loomis North, who has been
engaged in the practice of law in Los Angeles for a number of years, has won a
large and representative clientele and is accounted one of the ablest and most
successful members of the local bar. He
was born in Riverside, California, January 31, 1886, a son of John Greenleaf
and August C. (Nourse)
North. His paternal grandfather, Judge
J. W. North, was one of the founders of the town of Riverside. John G. North, father of Richard L. North,
was one of the most illustrious members of the California bar. He continued the civic development of
Riverside, being the organizer and guiding hand of many private and municipal
projects, including the Southern California Colony Association, which was
formed by Judge North, who purchased the land on which Riverside was
founded. John G. North served for four
years as secretary of the Southern California Colony Association, of which his
father, Judge North, was president. He
was a stockholder and director in the Citizens National Bank and the Security
Savings Bank of Riverside, and he held membership in the National Geographic
Society, the National Forestry Association and the California Water and Forest
Association, serving as president of the last named for two years. His name was also on the membership rolls of
the Los Angeles Bar Association, the Southern Archaeological Institute, the
Sequoia League, the Sierra Club, the Commonwealth and Olympic Clubs of San
Francisco. He was identified fraternally
with the Knights Templar Masons and with the Knights of Pythias and also
belonged to numerous other organizations.
At the time of his death, which occurred in 1910, he was engaged in the
practice of law in Riverside. He had
long survived his wife, who passed away in 1891, leaving four sons,
namely: John C., Maurice E., Alfred C.
and Richard Loomis.
Excellent educational advantages
were accorded Richard L. North in his youth.
Following his graduation from high school he entered the University of
California, which he attended during the years 1904, 1905, and 1906, continuing
his studies at the University of Michigan, from which institution he was
graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1911. The same year he was admitted to the
California bar and began the work of his chosen profession at Riverside, this
state, where he continued in practice until 1919, when he was appointed to take
charge of the Los Angeles office of the State Corporation Department, which
position he held until 1922. During the
succeeding four years he was associated with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, one of the prominent law firms of Los Angeles,
and since 1925 he has been engaged in practice independently. A contemporary biographer wrote: “A constant student of the law, a determined
and resourceful trial lawyer and a safe and reliable office councilor, Mr.
North has won a high reputation in his profession and the confidence of the
public.” He is a member of the Los
Angeles County Bar Association, the California State Bar Association and the
American Bar Association.
On the 5th of July, 1912,
Mr. North was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Qua, of Paris, Ontario,
Canada, and they are the parents of a son, Harper.
Mr. North gives his political
support to the Republican Party and is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. He is also a
member of the Greek letter fraternity Delta Upsilon, and he has won many warm
friends in both social and professional circles of Los Angeles and this part of
the state.
Note:
Richard L. North
2nd married Florence Mangum in 1937. Florence told me that she was the first
California female Judge. She was in
family court. She also handle probate cases.
[Her great-niece, Nancy Pratt Melton.]
Transcribed
by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. IV, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 629-630,
Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V.
Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES
BIOGRAPHIES