Awards

College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award - 1983

About John Morton-Finney

John Morton-Finney (1889 - 1998) educator, lawyer, and humanitarian, was born in Kentucky to a former slave. Morton-Finney was a Buffalo Soldier (an elite army unit of black soldiers) in World War I, a teacher at historically black colleges, and taught Greek, Latin, German, Spanish, and French in Indianapolis Public Schools, including Crispus Attucks High School in Indiana.

He earned 12 college degrees including a Law degree from the IU School of Law. He earned his final degree at the age of 75. Dr. Morton-Finney practiced law until the age of 106, having worked in the field for nearly 85 years. At the time of his death at the age of 108, Morton-Finney is believed to be the longest practicing attorney in the United States.