John Jordan Gore (April 28, 1878 – February 21, 1939) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Early Life and Education
Born in Gainesboro, Tennessee, Gore attended Montpelier Academy in Gainesboro, Bellwood Academy in Macon County, and Fall's Business School in Nashville, Tennessee. He read law in the office of Judge Bancroft Murray in Gainesboro and was admitted to the bar in 1899.
Career
Gore entered private practice in Jackson, Tennessee, in 1899, forming a law partnership with Cordell Hull (who later served as U.S. Secretary of State). Despite Hull being a Democrat and Gore a Republican, the firm operated as Hull & Gore. During the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt, Gore served as Postmaster of Gainesboro and as Collector of Customs for the Port of Nashville, both federal patronage positions. He was a member of the Tennessee Senate from 1915 to 1916 and served as Chairman of the Republican Executive Committee for the State of Tennessee in 1920.
Federal Judicial Service
Gore was nominated by President Warren G. Harding on February 28, 1923, to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, to a new seat authorized by 42 Stat. 837. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 2, 1923, and received his commission the same day. He served until his death on February 21, 1939. He was one of three judges who heard the famous Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) case in Chattanooga, in which the decision was unanimous in favor of the TVA.
Personal Life and Death
Gore never married. He died of heart failure at his residence at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 60. He was interred at the cemetery at his family's farm in Gainesboro. Gore was related to the Gore political family of Tennessee, whose most noted member is former Vice President Al Gore.
