Elliott Northcott

Elliott Northcott (April 26, 1869 – January 3, 1946) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Early and family life
Born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, Northcott attended the University of Michigan Law School, but read law to enter the bar in 1891. Northcott married Lola Beardsley in 1893.

Lawyer and diplomat
Northcott was admitted to the West Virginia bar and began a private legal practice in 1891. He became the city attorney of Huntington, West Virginia, serving from 1897 to 1898, and then became an Assistant United States Attorney of the Southern District of West Virginia from 1898 to 1905, and won promotion to become the United States Attorney for that district from 1905 to 1909.

Northcott then became a diplomat in the U.S. State department. The United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Colombia from 1909 to 1911, he held a similar position in Nicaragua in 1911, and then transferred to a similar position with respect to Venezuela (1911 to 1913). He returned to private practice in West Virginia from 1915 to 1922, and again served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia from 1922 to 1927.

Federal judge
Northcott received a recess appointment from President Calvin Coolidge on April 6, 1927, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated by Judge John Carter Rose. He was nominated to the same position by President Coolidge on December 6, 1927. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 15, 1927, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on October 15, 1939.

Death and legacy
Judge Northcott died on January 3, 1946, in Arcadia, Florida.