Eugene Hoffman Nickerson (August 2, 1918 – January 1, 2002) was the Democratic county executive of Nassau County, New York, from 1962 until 1970. Nickerson was the only Democrat to be elected county executive in Nassau County until 2001. Later, as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, he presided over a challenge to the Pentagon's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuality and the notorious Abner Louima police brutality case in New York. Nickerson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on August 16, 1977, to a seat vacated by Orrin Judd. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 20, 1977, and received commission on October 21, 1977. Assumed senior status on January 1, 1994. Nickerson's service was terminated on January 1, 2002, due to death. Early life and education Nickerson was a descendant both of the Nickerson family of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and of President John Quincy Adams. His mother, né Ruth Constance Comstock (1891–1988), was from Orange, New Jersey. She gave birth to three sons: Schuyler, Eugene and Adams. His father, Hoffman Nickerson (1888–1965), was an Army officer, state legislator, and historian who wrote The turning point of the Revolution; or, Burgoyne in America concerning the Saratoga campaign. Born in Orange, New Jersey, Nickerson grew up in New York City and Mill Neck on Long Island. At St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts, he was quarterback of the football team and captain of the hockey team. But shortly before he entered Harvard College in 1937, Nickerson was stricken by polio, seemingly ending what had started out to be a promising athletic career. For two years, he was forced to wear his right arm in a brace held out from his body. While at Harvard, Nickerson showed unusual perseverance by teaching himself to play squash with his left hand. Ultimately he was named the squash team's captain and its ranking player. Harvard's athletic director, William Bingham, wrote to another Harvard graduate, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, about the courage of this young squash player. President Roosevelt answered Bingham's letter saying "What we need are more Nickersons." Bingham sent a copy of the President's letter to Eugene's father, Hoffman Nickerson. The letter was kept in a box for years until Eugene's wife, Marie-Louise, took it out to read to their daughters. He graduated from Harvard with a