Clark was born on February 1, 1891, in Newark, New Jersey. His parents were John William Clark, and Margaretta Cameron Clark. He had two brothers, John Balfour Clark, who became president of the Clark Thread Company, and James Cameron Clark. His father was president of the Clark Thread Company of Newark. His maternal grandfather was U.S. Senator and Secretary of War during the Grant administration, J. Donald Cameron, who himself was the son of Simon Cameron, also a U.S. Senator and the Secretary of War during the Lincoln administration. His paternal grandfather was William Clark, the founder of the Clark Thread Company in the United States. He studied at the Newark Academy and St. Mark's School and earned successive degrees at Harvard University, starting with a Bachelor of Arts degree at the age of 20 in 1911, followed by a Master of Arts degree a year later, and finally a Bachelor of Law from Harvard Law School in 1915.
Clark, a Republican, received a recess appointment from President Calvin Coolidge on May 21, 1925, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by Judge Charles Francis Lynch. He was nominated to the same position by President Coolidge on December 8, 1925. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 17, 1925, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on June 25, 1938, due to his elevation to the Third Circuit. Clark was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 10, 1938, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated by Judge Joseph Whitaker Thompson. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 16, 1938, and received his commission on June 25, 1938. His service terminated on March 24, 1943, due to his resignation.
Notable cases
Clark presided over many patent cases, only three of which were overturned by 1930. In 1930, in the case of United States v. Sprague, Clark ruled that the Eighteenth Amendment was invalid on the grounds that its ratification by State Legislatures was not the method prescribed by the United States Constitution for amendments effecting a transfer of power from the individual states to the United States.
On March 24, 1943, Clark resigned his judgeship and became a full-time member of the United States Army, this time as part of World War II. He was originally commissioned a lieutenant colonel. His service lasted until the war's conclusion in 1945, rising to the rank of colonel after 32 months spent overseas. Upon his return to the United States, Clark sued the government under the G.I. Bill for his seat on the bench back. A unanimous decision by the United States Court of Claims held that he was not entitled to resume his post he left to rejoin to Army. In January 1948, he was appointed a civilian member of the legal staff of Genenal Lucius D. Clay, who was commanding the occupation forces in Germany. In 1949, Clark became the Chief Justice of the Allied High CommissionCourt of Appeals in Nuremberg, Germany. He stayed in this position until 1954, after being informed in 1953 that he was not going to be reappointed Chief Justice due to the diminishing amount of work for the court to preside over.
Personal life
On September 20, 1913, Clark married Marjory Bruce Blair, daughter of investment banker C. Ledyard Blair. Eight hundred guests were invited to the celebration at the Blairsden Mansion in Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey, not far from the Clark family's own estate, Peachcroft. Before their divorce in 1947, they had three children, a daughter and two sons:
