William H. Webster was born on March
6, 1924, in St. Louis, Missouri, and received his
early education in Webster Groves near St. Louis.
He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst
College, Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1947, where,
in 1975, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Judge Webster received his Juris Doctor degree from
Washington University Law School, St. Louis, Missouri,
in 1949. He served as a Lieutenant in the United
States Navy in World War II and again in the Korean
War.
Judge Webster was a practicing attorney
with a St. Louis law firm from 1949 to 1959, and
served as United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of Missouri from 1960 to 1961. He returned
to private practice in 1961. From 1964 to 1969, he
was a member of the Missouri Board of Law Examiners.
In 1970, Judge Webster was appointed
a Judge of the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Missouri and, in 1973, was elevated
to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth
Circuit. He resigned on February 23, 1978, to become
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
During his service on the bench, Judge
Webster was Chairman of the Judiciary Conference
Advisory Committee on the Criminal Rules and was
a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Habeas Corpus
and the Committee of Court Administration.
Judge Webster was a member of the American
Bar Association; the Council of the American Law
Institute; the Order of the Coif; the Missouri Bar
Integrated; and the Metropolitan St. Louis Bar Association.
He also served as Chairman of the Corporation, Banking
and Business Law Section of the American Bar Association;
and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
He has received many honors from various
schools, including: Washington University Alumni
Citation for contributions to the field of law; the
Distinguished Alumnus Award from Washington University
Law School in 1977; the William Greenleaf Elliot
Award from Washington University, May 1981; the Fordham
Law School Louis Stein Award, October 1982; the 1986
Thomas Jefferson Award in Law from the University
of Virginia; and, honorary degrees from DePauw University;
William Woods College; Drury College; Washington
University; Columbia College; University of Dayton
School of Law; University of Notre Dame; Centre College;
Dickinson School of Law; University of Miami; DePaul
University; The American University; and, the John
Jay College of Criminal Justice.
He is also a member of the Board of
Trustees of Washington University, the University
of Colorado Law School Board of Visitors, and the
National Advisory Board of the American University.
Judge Webster has received other honors and awards, including: Man of the
Year, 1980, by the St. Louis Globe-Democrat; the Riot Relief Fund Award in
New York City; the August 1983, International Platform Association Theodore
Roosevelt Award for excellence in public service; the Jefferson Award for
the Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, June 1984;
the Freedoms Foundation National Service Medal in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania,
May 1985; the First Annual Patrick V. Murphy Award from the Police Foundation,
Washington, D.C., for distinguished service in law enforcement; and Father
of the Year for Public Service in May 1986, by the National Father's Day
Committee,
Judge Webster was elected to active
membership in the National Academy of Public Administration
in October 1981 and, in May 1985, became President
of the Institute of Judicial Administration.