Born in Attica, Indiana, Parkinson read law to enter the bar in 1923.
His service terminated on September 9, 1957, due to his elevation to the Seventh Circuit.
[1] Parkinson was nominated by President Eisenhower on August 21, 1957, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated by Judge Hardress Nathan Swaim.
[1] Parkinson disappeared on October 26, 1959, under mysterious circumstances while returning to his apartment from his Chicago, Illinois, judicial office.
His body was found six months later on April 24, 1960, in the water one half mile from where he disappeared and was positively identified.