Warner Thornton McGuinn

Warner Thornton McGuinn was born near Richmond, Virginia in 1859 to Jared and Fannie McGuinn. He received his undergraduate education at Lincoln University, graduating in 1884, then began studying law at Howard University. After two years, he transferred to Yale, where he completed his degree in 1887. While a student at Yale, McGuinn was president of the Kent Club at the Law School, was recognized for his skill in oratory, and worked in a law office and as a waiter to support himself. In 1885, McGuinn met the writer Mark Twain when his club invited the author to speak on campus. After this meeting, Twain offered to pay McGuinn’s tuition for his final year. McGuinn declined the offer as unnecessary, but was pressured to accept the offer by the dean of the Law School. Twain was celebrated for the gift, and the popular story that Twain supported McGuinn’s education has tended to overshadow his significant academic and professional accomplishments.

In 1890, McGuinn moved to Baltimore and began his career as a lawyer, civil rights activist, and politician. In 1892, he married Anna L. Wallace, and the couple had one daughter, Alma McGuinn, in 1895. In the 1910s, he notably fought against segregation and the disenfranchisement of Black voters and advocated for women’s suffrage. He was elected to the Baltimore city council twice, serving from 1919-1923 and from 1927-1931. McGuinn was a mentor to civil rights attorney and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who later said that McGuinn should have been a judge himself. McGuinn died in 1937.

"Batimore Attorneys Comment On Supreme Court Decision," Afro-American, May 29, 1926.