John Henry Wigmore

John Henry Wigmore
John Henry Wigmore
Born	(1863-03-04)March 4, 1863 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	April 20, 1943(1943-04-20) (aged 80)
Nationality	American
Occupation	Jurist
Known for	Wigmore chart

John Henry Wigmore (March 4, 1863 – April 20, 1943) was an American jurist and expert in the law of evidence. After teaching law at Keio University in Tokyo (1889–1892), he was the dean of Northwestern Law School (1901 to 1929). He is most known for his Treatise on the Anglo-American System of Evidence in Trials at Common Law (1904) and a graphical analysis method known as a Wigmore chart.

Born in San Francisco, son of John and Harriet Joyner Wigmore, Wigmore attended Harvard University and earned the degrees AB in 1883, AM in 1884, and LLB in 1887. Following his graduation, he practiced law in Boston before being recruited as a foreign advisor to Meiji period Empire of Japan, and was assigned to teach law at Keio University in Tokyo from 1889 through 1892.

Wigmore's lasting influence is hard to measure in the evolution of legal systems in Japan and the United States. A major legacy of his time in Japan was the beginning of detailed study of the laws of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan, which he edited and published as a series of papers while at Keio University. The collection of papers grew to 15 volumes under the collected title of Materials for the Study of Private Law in Old Japan before its completion in the mid-1930s.

Wigmore accepted a post at Northwestern University and returned to the United States in 1893. He became the dean of Northwestern Law School from 1901 to 1929.