George TURNER, Congress, WA (1850-1932)

TURNER, George, a Senator from Washington; born in Edina, Knox County, Mo., February 25, 1850; attended the common schools; served as United States military telegraph operator with the Union forces during the Civil War 1861-1865; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1869 and commenced practice in Mobile, Ala.; United States marshal for the southern and middle districts of Alabama 1876-1880; associate justice of the supreme court for the Territory of Washington 1885-1888; resumed the practice of law in Spokane, Wash., in 1888; also interested in mining; member of the Territorial convention in 1889 that framed the constitution of the new State of Washington; unsuccessful candidate for election as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1889 and 1893; elected on a fusionist ticket with Silver Republicans, Democrats, and Populists to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1897, to March 3, 1903; was not a candidate for reelection; resumed the practice of law in Spokane, Wash.; member of the Alaska Boundary Tribunal in 1903; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor in 1904; counsel for the United States at The Hague in the northeastern fisheries arbitration with Great Britain in 1910; appointed by President William H. Taft as a member of the International Joint Commission, created to prevent disputes regarding the use of boundary waters between the United States and Canada 1911-1914; counsel for the United States before the International Joint Commission 1918-1924; practiced law in Spokane, Wash.; died in Spokane, January 26, 1932; interment in Greenwood Cemetery.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Johnson, Claudius. “George Turner, Attorney-at-Law.” Research Studies of the State College of Washington 11 (September 1943): 171-92.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present