Thomas Tang

Who was Thomas Tang?

Thomas Tang was a federal judge in the United States and the first American of Chinese descent appointed to the federal judiciary.

The son of a grocery owner, Tang spent his early years in Phoenix, Arizona, where he attended public schools. He joined the military through ROTC in 1942 and became a First Lieutenant in the United States Army. After graduation from the University of Santa Clara and the University of Arizona College of Law, he was again commissioned to the Army and served on the Korean peninsula during the Korean War.

In 1952, Tang resigned from the Army and after a brief stint of private practice, served as Deputy County Attorney of Maricopa, Arizona in 1952-1957 and Assistant Attorney General of Arizona in 1957-1959.

He was then elected to the Phoenix City Council of Phoenix in 1960, and a Judge of the Superior Court of Arizona in 1963. During his tenure as Superior Court Judge, numerous lawyers who later rose to great eminence appeared before him, current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor being one of them.