George G. Wright
George Grover Wright | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator fromIowa | |
| In office March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1877 | |
| Preceded by | James B. Howell |
| Succeeded by | Samuel J. Kirkwood |
| Member of theIowa Senate | |
| In office 1849-1851 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 24, 1820 Bloomington,Indiana |
| Died | January 11, 1896(aged 75) Des Moines,Iowa |
| Political party | Republican |
George Grover Wright(March 24, 1820 – January 11, 1896) was a pioneer lawyer,Iowa Supreme Courtjustice, law professor, and RepublicanUnited States SenatorfromIowa.
Born inBloomington, Indiana,he attended private schools and graduated fromIndiana Universityat Bloomington in 1839. He studied law inRockville, Indianaand was admitted to thebarin 1840, commencing practice inKeosauqua, Iowa Territory (now Keosauqua, Iowa).
He wasprosecuting attorneyofVan Buren County, Iowain 1847-1848 and was a member of theIowa Senatefrom 1849 to 1851. He was a justice of theIowa Supreme Courtfrom January 1854 to January 1860, and June 1860 to September 1870.[1]He was the Court's chief justice for seven of those years.[1]He also served as president of the Iowa Agricultural Society from 1860 to 1865.
Wright moved toDes Moinesin 1865. In collaboration with Justice C. C. Cole, he established at Des Moines the first law school west of theMississippi River.This school later became theUniversity of Iowa College of Law.[1]He served as one of its professors from 1865 to 1871.
In 1870, theIowa General Assemblychose Wright (overWilliam Boyd Allisonand others) to serve a six-year term in the United States Senate.[2]He served in the Senate from March 4, 1871, to March 4, 1877. He was not a candidate for reelection. While in the Senate, he was a member of theSenate Committee on the Judiciary(in the Forty-second Congress), a member of the Committee onCivil ServiceandRetrenchment(in the Forty-third Congress) and Committee on Claims (in the Forty-fourth Congress).
After leaving the Senate, he resumed the practice of his profession inDes Moinesand also engaged in banking as the president of the Polk County Savings Bank. From 1887 to 1888 he was president of theAmerican Bar Association.He died in Des Moines in 1896, aged 75, and was interred inWoodland Cemetery.
Wright's brother,Joseph Albert Wright,was a Governor and Senator fromIndiana.
References[edit]
- ^abcIowa Judicial Branch Biography of George C. Wright[permanent dead link],accessed 2009-06-06.
- ^Dan Elbert Clark, "History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa,"pp. 143-49 (Iowa 1913).
- United States Congress."George G. Wright (id: W000759)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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| Class 3 | ||
| Post Office and Post Roads (1816–1947) | | |
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| Civil Service and Retrenchment (1873–1921) | ||
| Civil Service (1921–1947) | ||
| Post Office and Civil Service (1947–1977) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1820 births
- 1896 deaths
- Burials at Woodland Cemetery (Des Moines, Iowa)
- People from Bloomington, Indiana
- Republican Party United States senators from Iowa
- Republican Party Iowa state senators
- Chief Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court
- Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court
- American prosecutors
- Iowa lawyers
- Presidents of the American Bar Association
- Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa
- People from Rockville, Indiana
- People from Keosauqua, Iowa
- 19th-century American legislators
- University of Iowa College of Law faculty
- 19th-century American judges
- 19th-century American lawyers