George Wharton Pepper
| George Wharton Pepper | |
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United States Senator from Pennsylvania |
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In office January 9, 1922 – March 4, 1927 |
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| Preceded by | Boies Penrose |
| Succeeded by | William Vare |
| Member of the Republican National Committee from Pennsylvania |
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In office June 10, 1922 – May 12, 1928 |
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| Preceded by | Boies Penrose |
| Succeeded by | WW Atterbury |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 16, 1867 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | May 24, 1961 (aged 94) Devon, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Republican |
| a.^ Vare was not permitted to qualify for the seat, though his defeat of Pepper in the primary election was recognized by the Senate. However, due to alleged election fraud, Vare was never seated, and a special election was held in 1930, which was won by Republican James Davis. | |
George Wharton Pepper (March 16, 1867 – May 24, 1961) was an American lawyer, law professor, Christian activist and Republican politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and founded the law firm of Pepper Hamilton.
Pepper was born to upper-class parents, physician (and former Union cavalry officer) George Pepper and his wife Mehitable ("Hitty") Markoe Wharton, on March 16, 1867. Each was descended from families prominent in the region since the colonial-era: Pennsylvania Dutch on his father's side and Quakers and Episcopalians on his mother's. He was born in his paternal grandmother's house, in a fashionable neighborhood, 1215 Walnut Street. Their first child had died in infancy, and the family soon moved to quarters on Pine Street. Dr. Wharton died when George was seven and his only sister Frances a newborn, so the family moved to smaller quarters, 346 S. 16th Street in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood with his grandmother. His mother home-schooled her then weak-eyed son, with the assistance of his uncle Dr. William Pepper (whom he considered like a father after his own father's demise) and later a blind tutor, John F. Maher. His grandmother's summer estate up the Schuylkill River later became one of those consolidated into Laurel Hill Cemetery. He considered Willie Ryder his best friend, noting that he was "colored"; and also remembered informally competing at memory exercises with boys from a nearby prep school. In 1876, his mother remarried, to his father's friend and former classmate, lawyer Ernest Zantzinger.
Admitted to his father's (and step-father's) alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, Pepper was active in athletics (rowing crew, becoming captain of his class football and cricket teams and winning the hammer throw for the track-and-field team) and drama. In addition to academic activities (for which he earned a Phi Beta Kappa key he often twirled later in his life), Pepper started the school newspaper and edited a literary magazine (which later merged into the Daily Pennsylvanian). He also joined several organizations, including the Zeta Psi fraternity, Sketch club and Philomathean Society. Pepper graduated first in his class from the college in 1887. Then he followed the examples of his maternal grandfather and stepfather, entering the University of Pennsylvania Law School, from which he also graduated first in his class and with several honors in 1889.
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