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Office of the Attorney General

Attorneys General of the U.S., 1789 - Present

GEORGE WOODWARD WICKERSHAM
Forty-Seventh Attorney General 1909-1913

Portrait of George Wickersham
Artist: Comte de Chabannes de Palice (1862-?)
GEORGE WICKERSHAM was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 1858. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania earning the degree of LL.B. in 1880. In 1901 that university conferred upon him the honorary degree of master of arts. Previous to graduation he had been admitted to the Philadelphia bar and practiced there until 1882, when he moved to New York City. In 1883 Wickersham entered the old established law firm of Strong and Cadwalader, and became a partner in the firm four years later. He held the office of Attorney General of the United States from March 5, 1909, to March 5, 1913, in President Taft's administration. Wickersham was named by President Wilson to serve on the War Trade Board to Cuba soon after the United States entered World War I. In 1929 President Hoover named him to the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, also known as the Wickersham Commission. He died in New York City on January 25, 1936.

About the Artist: Comte de Chabannes de Palice (1862-1928)

Jean-Pierre-Charles Chabannes de Palice was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France, on April 18, 1862. He was a student of Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens. His paintings and sculpture were exhibited in Paris in the early 1900's. The portrait of Attorney General Wickersham was painted in 1913.



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