George Sharswood

George Sharswood (July 7, 1810 – May 28, 1883) was an American politician and judge. He served as a Whig member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1837 to 1838 and 1842 to 1843. He served on the select council for Philadelphia from 1839 to 1840, as a district judge in Pennsylvania from 1845 to 1867, as a justice on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from 1868 to 1879 and as chief justice from 1879 to 1882. He was a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and served as Dean from 1852 to 1868.

Early life and education Sharswood was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 7, 1810. He received honorary doctorate of laws degrees from Columbia College (now known as Columbia University) and the University of the City of New York (now known as New York University) in 1856.

Career He served as a Whig member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1837 to 1838 and again from 1842 to 1843. He served on the select council for Philadelphia from 1839 to 1840.

In 1851, he was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society.

He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1868, and was named Chief Justice in the court in 1879. He retired in 1882.

Legacy The Liberty Ship served during World War II and was named in his honor.

The George Sharswood Fellowship was created in 2007 by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School for students interested in a career in legal academia.

Publications A Compend of Lectures on the Aims and Duties of the Profession of the Law. Delivered Before the Law Class of the University of Pennsylvania., Philadelphia: T. & J.W. Johnson, 1854 The Common Law of Pennsylvania. A Lecture Read Before the Law Academy of Philadelphia, at the Opening of the Session of 1855-6., Philadelphia: L.R. Bailey, 1855 Address Delivered at the University of Pennsylvania, Before the Society of Alumni, on the Occasion of Their Annual Celebration, December 10th, 1856, Philadelphia: King & Baird Printers, 1857 Reviewed Work: Commentaries on the Laws of England, in Four Books by William Blackstone, George Sharswood, (1860), The North American Review, 90(187), 550-552. An Essay of Professional Ethics, Philadelphia: T. & J.W. Johnson & Co., 1884