James Robert Knott (1910-1999) was born in Tallahassee, the grandson of a soldier in the Second Seminole War. Knott’s father was William Valentine Knott, who served as Florida’s auditor, comptroller, and treasurer, and won the 1916 Democratic primary for governor. James Knott graduated from the University of Florida Law School in 1934 and practiced in Jacksonville until he joined the navy during World War II.
Knott married Evelyn Douglas Causey (1910-1995), one of the few women aviators before World War II. While her plane was confiscated for military use during the war, Evelyn Knott taught at Harvard University and did clandestine work for the army.
After the war the Knotts moved to West Palm Beach, where James joined a law firm. He was appointed Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge in 1956 to fill the position vacated by the death of C. E. Chillingworth. Judge Knott served almost twenty-one years, reelected without opposition, the last eight as senior judge.
With Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, Knott led the ten-year battle that restored the name of Cape Canaveral, which dates to about 1520 and had been changed to Cape Kennedy in 1963. He served as president of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County (1957-69), the Florida Historical Society (1964-66), the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, and the Palm Beach County Historical Commission. He was instrumental in establishing the Palm Beach Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum at Whitehall.
From 1977 to 1985 Knott recounted local history in the Sunday “Brown Wrapper” supplements to The Palm Beach Post, which were collected in three books.
In 1989 the Historical Society of Palm Beach County established the Judge James R. Knott Award to recognize an individual or organization that has significantly contributed to preserving and sharing the county’s history.