(b. Philadelphia, Pa., 16 Mar. 1867; d. Devon, Pa., 24 May 1961), lawyer. A statesman and Supreme Court practitioner, George Wharton Pepper received his A.B. and LL.B. from the University of Pennsylvania, where early in his career he became Biddle Professor of Law. Pepper taught and practiced law for seventeen years until the dual duties became too onerous and he resigned his professorship. Appointed to fill a vacancy, Pepper represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1922 to 1927. The Supreme Court asked Pepper to represent Congress as amicus curiae in Myers v. United States (1926), where he unsuccessfully contested the president's right to remove postmasters without congressional approval. He prevailed in arguing the invalidity of the New Deal's Agricultural Adjustment Act in United States v. Butler (1936). A capable and much‐honored counselor, Pepper authored works ranging from Pennsylvania law digests to an analytical index to the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. His 1944 autobiography bears the appropriate title Philadelphia Lawyer.
— Francis Helminski
