Sherman Minton was born in Georgetown and attended New Albany High School. After graduating from law school, he served overseas during World War I. In 1934, he was elected to the U.S. Senate as a New Deal Democrat. Nominated by President Roosevelt, he served as a Seventh Circuit Court judge from 1941 to 1949, writing significant judicial opinions regulating monopolies. Nominated by President Truman, Minton served as an Associate Supreme Court Justice from 1949 to 1956. Although his judicial position was one of restraint and deference to precedent, he took an activist stance on civil rights issues, as shown in landmark desegregation cases such as Barrows v. Jackson and Brown v. Board of Education. Upon retirement, he returned to New Albany.