Born in Bradfordsville on March 5, 1834, Uriah M. Rose was studying Latin at age 5 and received an excellent education until his father died in 1849. When Rose was 17, lawyer R.H. Roundtree hired him as a deputy county clerk while he studied law at night at Transylvania University. After graduating in 1853, Rose formed a partnership with his brother-in-law in Batesville, Arkansas. In 1860 he was appointed chancellor in Pulaski County, a position he held until Union forces captured the state capital. Although he opposed secession, he remained loyal to Arkansas throughout the Civil War.
Moving to Little Rock in 1865, he formed a partnership with George C. Watkins, former chief justice of Arkansas. Two years later he published the Digest of the Arkansas Reports. A man of learning in the law, science, and literature, Rose could read German and speak French fluently; he was also a noted public speaker. His library contained over 8,000 volumes in various languages. In 1891 he published The Constitution of the State of Arkansas, with notes. He was an influential member of the Arkansas Bar Association, serving as its president from 1899 to 1900; he was a charter member of the American Bar Association and its president from 1901 to 1902. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him a delegate to the Second Peace Conference at The Hague in 1907.
Rose died at his home in Little Rock, Arkansas, on August 12, 1913.
Biography courtesy National Statuary Hall.