Williston, Samuel (1861–1963)

US jurist. He codified commercial law that was adopted by most US states. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he was professor (1890–1938) and active professor emeritus (1938–63) at Harvard Law School. He continued in private practice into his nineties and became Harvard's oldest living alumnus. His five-volume Law of Contracts (1920–22) became a standard. The American Bar Association awarded him its first gold medal (1929).