On February 22, 1901, future Supreme Court justice Charles Evans Whittaker was born near Troy, Kansas. 

As a young adult, Whittaker moved to Kansas City, where he earned a degree from the Kansas City School of Law and then went on to practice law for 30 years. In just three years, starting in 1954, he transitioned into the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Missouri and the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and finally served as a Supreme Court associate justice.

Whittaker grew up on his family's farm near Troy, Kansas. His family noticed that Charles had a keen interest in the law from an early age. According to his brother, Sam, Charles held his own mock trials and lectured to the horses as if they were the jury. Despite his deep desire to become a lawyer, he was not known for his academic accomplishments. He attended a single-room public school, but he spent considerable time helping with the farm.

After the ninth grade, Whittaker dropped out of school to pursue farming and a second profession that literally stank: the sale of skunk pelts for $3 apiece. By 1920, he'd managed to save $700 and went to Kansas City to pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer. He worked as an office assistant at the local law firm Watson, Gage & Ess and spent two years completing high school. Taking advantage of his connections at the law firm, he was admitted to the Kansas City School of Law before he completed his high school courses. He received his law degree in 1924.

Read the rest of the story at KCHistory.org.