| George Wharton Pepper | |
|---|---|
| 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 S. Vare |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 16, 1867 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | May 24, 1961 (aged 94) Devon, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Republican |
George Wharton Pepper (March 16, 1867 – May 24, 1961) was an American lawyer, law professor, and Republican politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and founded the law firm of Pepper Hamilton.
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Pepper, born to upper-class parents of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1887 and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1889. He was admitted to the bar in 1889. From 1892 to 1895, he edited and published the University of Pennsylvania Law Review (then called the American Law Register and Review) with his friend, William Draper Lewis. In the early 1900s, a court appointed Pepper receiver for the Bay State Gas Company, a bankrupt Massachusetts utility. Pepper then sued a number of nationally-known businessmen, including William Rockefeller, Henry H. Rogers, and Thomas W. Lawson, for enriching themselves at the expense of the utility.[1]
During the public debate over the expansion of advertising in the 1920s, Senator Pepper argued for a "nationwide code of regulation," described in a 1929 speech to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. He pointed out that in preserving natural beauty, no national economic benefit was lost—-real estate values would increase without the addition of billboards. Pepper voiced what was then the general public fear: that if billboards became mainstream, advertising would become too obtrusive.[2]
Pepper prevailed upon President Calvin Coolidge’s to name fellow Pennsylvanian Owen Josephus Roberts special counsel to investigate the Teapot Dome scandal of Warren G. Harding's administration.[3]
Pepper was briefly the oldest living (former) senator.[4] He is buried at St. David's Episcopal Church, Wayne, Pennsylvania.[5]
| United States Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Boies Penrose |
United States Senator (Class 3) from Pennsylvania January 9, 1922–March 4, 1927 Served alongside: David Reed |
Succeeded by William S. Vare |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Joseph Grundy |
Oldest living U.S. Senator March 3, 1961-May 24, 1961 |
Succeeded by Theodore Green |
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