HIMIE SHANNON EUGENE
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Eugene Himie Shannon (December 6, 1893 -May 28, 1959) an Associate Justice and later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, was born in Struggling Hill, half Graway, Maryland County, on December 6, 1893; the grandson of Reverend O. E. A Himie Shannon, former Rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Harper, Maryland County.
PHOTO CAPTION: Himie Shannon Eugene. SOURCE: EA Library
He was educated at home and later in the Elementary School of his hometown. In 1903, he matriculated at Cuttington College and Divinity School, and after completing his course at Cuttington College and Divinity School in 1913, entered Liberia College, now the University of Liberia, from which he graduated with B.A. in 1915.
Because of his interest in the legal profession, he began to read law under the late Chief Justice Grimes. While serving as an instructor of the Protestant Episcopal Mission School in Grand Bassa County, he continued his legal studies under the late Chief Justice Russell, and was admitted to the Bar of Grand Bassa County in 1926, after which he abandoned teaching and practised law in Maryland County.
He held the following position in the state; County Attorney, Maryland County, from 1927 to 1931; Circuit Judge for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Maryland County, from 1931 to 1943; Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, from 1943 to 1957; and on March 12, 1957, President Tubman appointed him Chief Justice of Liberia. He retired from the Bench in 1958.
Justice Shannon, a devout Christian, was twice married and was a member of the St. Mark’s Protestant Episcopal Church of Maryland County, where he rose to the rank of Senior Warden, giving the Church brilliant service. He also served in the Militia as a member of Company C; and was a member of the United Brothers of Friendship and Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
In recognition of his outstanding services to the Nation, he was awarded the highest decoration of the Republic by Presidents Barclay and Tubman.
He died in his sixty-sixth year, at his farm in Barake, Maryland County, Republic of Liberia, on May 28, 1959. On the occasion of the funeral, the President of Liberia, William V.S. Tubman, said in a message of tribute: “Starting from virtual obscurity, by perseverance and stick-to-itiveness and with an indomitable will to succeed and aspire, the late Chief Justice Shannon rose gradually from a lowly estate to a place of eminence in church, state, and society ….. In his death, the nation has lost a pillar of state; the church, a devoted Christian…….”.
A. E NYEMA JONES
