John Johnston Parker was born on November 20, 1885, in Monroe, North Carolina. Parker was a practicing attorney, in his hometown of Monroe, and senior partner at the law office Stack & Parker (later Stack, Parker & Craig). In 1920, Parker was the Republican gubernatorial nominee, an election he ultimately lost to Cameron Morrison. President Calvin Coolidge appointed him to the Fourth United States Circuit Court of Appeals in 1925, a position he held until his death in 1958. In 1930, he was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Herbert Hoover but failed to be confirmed by the Senate. Parker died in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 1958.