George Douglas Wise was a
U.S. RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, cousin of
John Sergeant WiseJohn Sergeant Wise was an American author and leader in Virginia. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Henry Alexander Wise and Sarah Sergeant...
and
Richard Alsop WiseRichard Alsop Wise was a U.S. Representative from Virginia, son of Henry Alexander Wise, grandson of John Sergeant, brother of John Sergeant Wise, and cousin of George Douglas Wise....
and nephew of Henry Alexander Wise.
Born at "Deep Creek," the Wise estate in Accomack County, near
Onancock, VirginiaOnancock is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,525 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Onancock is located at ....
, Wise was graduated from
Indiana UniversityIndiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
at Bloomington.
He studied law in the College of William and Mary,
Williamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
.
He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in
Richmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
.
He served as captain in the
Confederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the
Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
He was Commonwealth's attorney of the city of Richmond from 1870 to 1889, when he resigned.
Wise was elected as a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to the Forty-seventh and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1889).
He served as chairman of the Committee on Manufactures (Forty-ninth Congress).
Presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Fifty-first Congress and served from March 4, 1889, to April 10, 1890, when he was succeeded by Edmund Waddill, Jr., who contested his election.
Wise was elected to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1895).
He served as chairman of the committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses). Wise was a delegate to the
Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the document that defines and limits the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the citizens of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. Like all other state constitutions, it is supreme over Virginia's laws and acts of government,...
.
He died in
Richmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, February 4, 1908.
He was interred in Hollywood Cemetery.
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