He was born in Seward, Nebraska, on August 19, 1890, and lived in California and Illinois while working for Burlington Railroad.

He graduated from high school in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1907 and was worked for John Deere Plow Co from 1907 to 1910.

He got his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nebraska in 1912, where he was a member of Chi Phi fraternity.

He received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1913, passing the bar in the same year setting up practice in Chicago, Illinois During World War I he served with the Field Artillery in the United States Army.

He was not a candidate for renomination in 1956 to the Eighty-fifth United States Congress instead he was again elected judge of the fourth judicial district court of Nebraska 1956 to 1960.