US Congressman, Judge. He was born one of three children (Eugene Thomas Devitt was born in 1909 and Robert Michael Devitt was born in 1916) to Thomas Phillip Devitt and Ethel "Ettie" McGuire in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from the prestigious St. John's College Preparatory High School in Collegeville, Minnesota, in 1930, and attended St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, from 1930 to 1932. He attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and received his Bachelor of Laws in 1935, and his Bachelor of Science from the same school in 1938. From 1935 to 1939, he was in private practice in East Grand Forks, North Dakota. During this time he also served as a municipal judge of the Minnesota Municipal Court in the East Grand Forks area. In 1938, he married Margaret Marcelle La Rose in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and they had a son named Timothy who was born on July 18, 1942. He served as the Assistant State Attorney General for the State of Minnesota from 1939 to 1942. During World War II, he entered the service and joined the United States Navy as a Naval Reserve Lieutenant Commander from 1942 to 1946. Following the war, he returned home and resumed his law practice until 1947. A member of the Republican Party, he then entered politics and represented Minnesota's 4th District (Eightieth Congress) in the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1949. He was an unsuccessful candidate in his bid for reelection to the Eighty-First Congress in 1948. After his term in the United States Congress expired on January 3, 1949, he was succeeded in office by United States Representative Eugene Joseph McCarthy. He then again returned to private practice until 1950. He then served as a Probate Judge in Ramsey County, Minnesota, from 1950 to 1954. On December 10, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower promoted him to Judge Matthew M. Joyce's vacated seat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. He was formally nominated to that position on January 10, 1955, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 4, 1955, and he received his commission on February 7, 1955. He held that position until 1958. He also served as a Board Member of the Federal Judicial Center from 1968 to 1971 and as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota from 1959 to 1981. On May 7, 1981, he assumed senior status. He lastly served as a Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 1985 to 1992. He passed away in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 2, 1992, at the age of 80. His funeral was held at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and he was laid to rest in the Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. His wife Margaret passed away on January 1, 1994, at the age of 84, and his son Timothy passed away on November 18, 2005, and they are buried in the same cemetery. The Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award was established in his honor, and The Edward J. Devitt United States Courthouse and Federal Building in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, was named in his memory.