George G. Wright

Who was George G. Wright?

George Grover Wright was a pioneer lawyer, Iowa Supreme Court justice, law professor, and Republican United States Senator from Iowa.

Born in Bloomington, Indiana, he attended private schools and graduated from Indiana University at Bloomington in 1839. He studied law in Rockville, Indiana and was admitted to the bar in 1840, commencing practice in Keosauqua, Iowa Territory.

He was prosecuting attorney of Van Buren County, Iowa in 1847-1848 and was a member of the Iowa Senate from 1849 to 1851. He was a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court from January 1854 to January 1860, and June 1860 to September 1870. He was the Court's chief justice for seven of those years. He also served as president of the Iowa Agricultural Society from 1860 to 1865.

Wright moved to Des Moines in 1865. In collaboration with Justice C. C. Cole, he established at Des Moines the first law school west of the Mississippi River. This school later became the University of Iowa College of Law. He served as one of its professors from 1865 to 1871.

In 1870, the Iowa General Assembly chose Wright to serve a six-year term in the United States Senate. He served in the Senate from March 4, 1871, to March 4, 1877.