The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Cummings, Homer Stillé
1870–1956, American lawyer, U.S. Attorney General (1933–39), b. Chicago. He practiced law in Stamford, Conn., where he was mayor three times. He served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (1919–20). In 1937 after the Supreme Court had overturned New Deal enabling legislation, Cummings drafted a proposal to give President Roosevelt the power to appoint a new justice to the Supreme Court to supplement any incumbent older than 70; this “court packing” plan was defeated by Congress.
