Henry Norman Graven
United States federal judge (1893–1970)
Henry Norman Graven (June 1, 1893 – February 1, 1970) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.
Education and career
Born in St. James, Minnesota, Graven served as a United States Army combat engineer during World War I. He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the University of Minnesota in 1921, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1921. Relocating to Iowa, he was in private practice in Greene, Iowa from 1921 to 1937. From 1936 to 1937, he was a special assistant state attorney general of Iowa and a counsel for the Iowa State Highway Commission. From 1937 to 1944, Graven was a trial court judge of the 12th Judicial District Court of Iowa.
Federal judicial service
Graven was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 3, 1944, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa vacated by Judge George Cromwell Scott. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 21, 1944, and received his commission on March 24, 1944. He served as Chief Judge in 1961. He assumed senior status on August 31, 1961.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Henry Norman Graven” is united States federal judge (1893–1970). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Henry, Norman and Graven, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “united States federal judge (1893–1970)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5726386. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1893, 1970, 1921 and 1937.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Henry Norman Graven”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Henry Norman Graven primary sources, Henry Norman Graven archive and Henry research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Henry Norman Graven”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Henry Norman Graven” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.