To this day, Colonel John H. Tucker, Jr. is considered one of Louisiana’s foremost legal scholars. His research, publications, and dedication to furthering the understanding of the history of civil law and its practical application to current issues has proven to be enlightening for over a half a century.
He was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1891 and spent much of his life in Shreveport, Louisiana. He obtained a B.A. from Washington & Lee University in 1910. In 1916 Tucker began his military career with service in the U.S. Army on the Mexican border. During World War I he served as aide-de-camp to General W.P. Richardson in France and northern Russia.
In 1920 he obtained his law degree from LSU and began his law practice with the firm of Smitherman & Tucker. Four years later he married Hortense Rigby. He was elected the first president of the Louisiana State Law Institute in 1938, after working diligently with the state legislature and LSU Law to create it.
He served as provost-marshal of Camp Beauregard when recalled to active service in 1940. He obtained the rank of full Colonel during World War II, where he served in the Army Air Forces. He retired from the Army in 1951.
Tucker was an active citizen of the state, particularly in Shreveport, where he participated on civic boards and was a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport.,
Colonel Tucker passed away in 1984, having left a tremendous impact on legal scholarship in Louisiana.
