The first meeting, organized by the Council of State Governments and funded by private foundations, and held in St. Louis, Missouri, was held at the behest of New Jersey Chief Justice Arthur T. Vanderbilt, Nebraska Chief Justice Robert G. Simmons and Missouri Chief Justice Laurance M. Hyde, who was elected as the first chairman by the representatives of the 44 states in attendance.
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In 1949, Hyde co-founded and became the first president of the Conference of Chief Justices, which he helped create along with the Council of State Governments and several private foundations at a meeting in St. Louis called by him, along with New Jersey Chief Justice Arthur T. Vanderbilt and Nebraska Chief Justice Robert G. Simmons.