Robert P. Anderson papers

Robert Palmer Anderson was born on March 27, 1906 in Noank, Connecticut. He was the son of Arthur P. Anderson, a probate judge in Groton, Connecticut, and Jessie P. Ashby Anderson. He lived in Noank until he started high school at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He was admitted into Yale College and graduated in 1927 with a BA in law. He then attended Yale Law School and graduated in 1929 with a LLB in law. He practiced general law with the firm of Waller, Waller, Avery and Gallup in New London, Connecticut, becoming a partner in 1935. In 1934 he was elected Justice of the Peace in Groton, a position he served into the 1940s. In 1936 he was also appointed a United States Commissioner.

After the United States entered World War II, Anderson was commissioned in the United States Coast Guard Reserve as a Lieutenant on January 21, 1942. He served in New London, Connecticut until January 1943. After attending Officers' School in St. Augustine, Florida, he was sent to North Africa in April 1943 as a part of the Lend-Lease Administration. He then was posted in Bizerte, Tunisia as part of the Navy's 8th Amphibious Force, and in the Mediterranean and the English Channel for Flotilla #4 LCI-Ls from May 1943 to November 1943. He was then assigned to the 11th Amphibious Force that participated in the Normandy Invasion, more commonly known as D-Day, until November 1944. Afterwards, he was posted in Washington D.C. as the Chief of the Rescue Vessel and Station Division of Air Sea Rescue at Coast Guard Headquarters and led the Coast Guard reserve unit in New London, Connecticut until he retired in 1957 due to the separation of powers doctrine. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal by the United States and the Order of the British Empire by the United Kingdom for his service.

Anderson began his work in politics and the state and federal court system in 1936 when he was appointed Public Defender for New London County. In 1946 he was elected to the Connecticut Senate, representing the 18th district. In 1947, he was appointed State's Attorney for New London County. He also served on the military staff Connecticut governors McConaughy, Shannon, and Lodge. He then resigned these positions when he was sworn in as a judge for the Connecticut Superior Court on August 10, 1953. These were succeeded by appointments to the United States District Court in 1954, where he became chief judge in 1960, and to the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit in 1964. He assumed senior status for the latter in 1971, but went back to active duty in 1972 when the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals was reformed to exercise judicial rule over an energy price stabilization program. Anderson worked until his death on May 2, 1978, filing his final decision the day before.