George Grafton Wilson

Background

George G. Wilson was born on March 29, 1863, in Plainfield, Connecticut, the son of Archibald Abram Wilson and Betsey Lucretia Brown.

Education

Wilson was educated at the University Grammar School in Providence, Rhode Island, and Brown University (Bachelor of Arts degree - 1886, Master of Arts degree - 1888, Doctor of Philosophy degree - 1891).

After completing his undergraduate studies, Wilson served as superintendent of schools in Groton, Connecticut, and, after receiving the doctorate, spent one year as principal of the Rutland, Vermont, high school.

In 1890 he studied at Heidelberg, Berlin, Paris, and Oxford.

Career

In 1891 Wilson returned to the United States. He joined the Brown faculty in 1891 as associate professor, teaching a variety of courses in social and political science, and in 1894 was promoted to full professor.

In 1907 he began giving courses at Harvard and in 1910 accepted an appointment there as professor of international law, serving until his retirement in 1936.

He was professor of international law at the United States Naval War College from 1900 to 1937. Wilson also served as exchange professor on the law faculty of the University of Paris in 1912 - 1913 and lectured at the Académie de Droit International in The Hague in 1923.

Finally, between 1933 and 1937 he held an appointment as professor of international law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University, of which he was a founder and to which he donated his large law library in 1946.

In addition to these activities, Wilson was a plenipotentiary delegate, with Louis Renault, to the London Naval Conference of 1908 - 1909, counselor to the American legation at The Hague in 1914, and legal adviser to the American delegation to the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-1922. In addition, as the delegate chosen by Nicaragua, he served on the International Central American Tribunal in 1928.

In 1941 Wilson was appointed special counsel to the United States Maritime Commission, a post he held until his death.

Although Wilson was most concerned with the impact of technology on naval and maritime law, during the 1920's and early 1930's he became fascinated with the potential of air power as an international police force to guarantee world peace. Following his retirement in 1943, Wilson lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and spent much of his time at his estate in Grafton, Vermont. He died on April 30, 1951, at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Achievements

• George Grafton Wilson was distinguished professor of International Law during the first half of the 20th century, serving on the faculties of Brown University, Harvard University, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and the U. S. Naval War College.

Works

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  • The Hague Arbitration Cases: Compromis Awards With Maps in Cases Decided Under the Provisions of the Hague Conventions of and for the Pacific ... Texts of the Conventions (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from The Hague Arbitration Cases: Compromis Award...)

  • The Monroe Doctrine After the War (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from The Monroe Doctrine After the War The power...)

  • Insurgency: Lectures Delivered at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, August, 1900 (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Insurgency: Lectures Delivered at the Naval ...)

  • Problems of Readjustment After the War

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • Submarine Telegraphic Cables in Their International Relations: Lectures Delivered at the Naval War College, August, 1901

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • International Law

    (International Law by George Grafton Wilson. This book is...)

  • Town and City Government in Providence

Politics

Although Wilson published and spoke often on a wide variety of contemporary international legal problems, he avoided involvement in political issues and popular causes.

But he was critical of the League of Nations Covenant and opposed diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union before it was clear that the new Russian government would abide by established international law and custom. Nevertheless, when a number of his associates denounced Hitler's violation of the Munich Agreement in 1939, Wilson pointedly referred to Hugo Grotius' successful self-imposed isolation from contemporary controversies.

Views

For the most part George Wilson devoted himself to the study of legal principles that he believed would provide a rational framework for international relations and that would survive momentary disturbances and shortsighted leaders. At the same time, Wilson insisted that international law was dynamic and in need of continual modernization. He consistently opposed making treaties that did not provide for periodic reconsideration and adjustment to changing world conditions, and he stressed the importance of changes created by technology that rapidly rendered many old rules obsolete.

Membership

George G. Wilson was a member of the American commission to compensate the Dutch for ships seized by the United States during World War I in 1919 - 1920.

Connections

On June 30, 1891, George Grafton Wilson married Elizabeth Rose, the daughter of a Baptist missionary; they had four children.

Father:

Archibald Abram Wilson

Mother:

Betsey Lucretia Brown

Wife:

Elizabeth "Lily" Wilson (Rose)

Daughter:

Rose Douglas Anderson (Wilson)

Daughter:

Miriam T. Arthur (Wilson)

Son:

Brayton Fuller Wilson

Son:

Grafton Lee Wilson