| Mell G. Underwood | |
| Office: | Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio |
| Term Start: | December 31, 1965 |
| Term End: | March 8, 1972 |
| Office1: | Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio |
| Term Start1: | 1953 |
| Term End1: | 1962 |
| Predecessor1: | Robert Reasoner Nevin |
| Successor1: | Carl Andrew Weinman |
| Office2: | Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio |
| Term Start2: | February 12, 1936 |
| Term End2: | December 31, 1965 |
| Appointer2: | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Predecessor2: | Benson W. Hough |
| Successor2: | Joseph Peter Kinneary |
| State3: | Ohio |
| District3: | 11th |
| Term Start3: | March 4, 1923 |
| Term End3: | April 10, 1936 |
| Predecessor3: | Edwin D. Ricketts |
| Successor3: | Peter Francis Hammond |
| Birth Name: | Mell Gilbert Underwood |
| Birth Date: | 30 January 1892 |
| Birth Place: | Rose Farm, Ohio |
| Death Place: | New Lexington, Ohio |
| Resting Place: | Maplewood Cemetery |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Education: | Ohio State University Moritz College of Law read law |
Mell Gilbert Underwood (January 30, 1892 – March 8, 1972) was a United States representative from Ohio and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Born at Rose Farm in rural Morgan County, Ohio, Underwood attended the public schools. He was graduated from the New Lexington High School in 1911. He taught in the public schools of New Lexington for several years. Underwood studied at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law at Columbus, and then read law to be admitted to the bar in 1915. He entered private practice in New Lexington from 1915 to 1923. He was a prosecuting attorney of Perry County, Ohio from 1917 to 1921.[1]
Underwood was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election in 1920 to the 67th United States Congress. Eventually elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives of the 68th United States Congress and the six succeeding Congresses, he served from March 4, 1923, to April 10, 1936. He was Chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions for the 72nd through the 74th United States Congresses.
On January 27, 1936, Underwood was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio vacated by Judge Benson W. Hough. Underwood was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 4, 1936, and received his commission on February 12, 1936. He served as Chief Judge from 1953 to 1962, assuming senior status on December 31, 1965.
Underwood served in that capacity until his death on March 8, 1972, on his farm near New Lexington and was buried nearby in Maplewood Cemetery.[1]