Julian M. Wright

Julian May Wright (February 12, 1884 – October 6, 1938) was an American attorney and a judge advocate of the international court in Cairo, Egypt.

Early life Wright was born in Douglaston, Queens, New York, in 1884. His maternal grandfather, John Frederick May, was a successful Washington, D.C. physician who had studied in Paris and taught at the University of Maryland and Columbian College (aka George Washington University). When his parents divorced, Wright moved with his mother to her hometown of Washington, D.C. In March 1902, there was "an Assault of Arms" between the Washington Fencers' Club and the United States Naval Academy. Other members of the 300 person audience included the Secretary of the Navy John Davis Long, the German ambassador Theodor von Holleben, the French ambassador Jules Cambon, the Russian ambassador Egor Egorovich Staal, the Italian ambassador Edmondo Mayor des Planches, the Belgian minister, the Swiss minister Fernand du Martheray, the Haitian minister Jacques Nicolas Léger, and representatives from the Norwegian and Swedish embassies. Although Wright's tied with his two competitors, his club won the contest. The newspaper said, "Mr. Wright is excellent on attack, his unusually long reach giving his a substantial advantage. While at MIT, he was a class director and a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall) and the Mandanan Club. He graduated in 1906. His partner, Lovering Hill, was a graduate of Harvard University and volunteered with the American Field Ambulance Corps in France during World War I.

Wright left that firm in 1930 when the Egyptian government offered an appointment of Judge Advocate of the Mixed Court in Cairo, Egypt. The legal system of these courts was a non-Western polity, with international judges. Cases ranged from international banking, maritime commerce, trademarks and patents to divorce, marriage contracts, and legitimacy—all while navigating different nationalities and religions.

In 1938, Wright died in Pas-de-Calais, France in at the age of 54 with his mother and wife attending.