US Congressman. He was a lawyer in practice at Springfield, Illinois, when he moved Washington Territory in 1883. There he was elected probate judge of Pierce County, serving (1884-88), city attorney of Tacoma, in 1894 and a member of the Washington State House of Representatives in 1898. With the gold discoveries in Alaska, hordes of prospectors poured into the area along with criminals, corruption and claim jumping. To bring law and order to the Yukon River, President William McKinley appointed Wickersham the first District Court Judge of Alaska in 1900. In position as judge, he brought justice to the Eagle, Valdez, Fairbanks, Klondike and Nome districts until 1908, when he resigned to run for Congress. In 1909, he was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-first and to the next five succeeding Congresses serving until 1920. He was again elected to the Seventy-second Congress, serving (1931-33). An unsuccessful candidate for reelection, he resumed the practice of law in Juneau, Alaska, was editor of Alaska Territory Law Reports, the Old Yukon newspaper, plus wrote about Alaskan ethnological and historical subjects. Mount Wickersham Alaska, is named in his honor and The Wickersham Wall on Mount McKinley, was named after him.
US Congressman. He was a lawyer in practice at Springfield, Illinois, when he moved Washington Territory in 1883. There he was elected probate judge of Pierce County, serving (1884-88), city attorney of Tacoma, in 1894 and a member of the Washington State House of Representatives in 1898. With the gold discoveries in Alaska, hordes of prospectors poured into the area along with criminals, corruption and claim jumping. To bring law and order to the Yukon River, President William McKinley appointed Wickersham the first District Court Judge of Alaska in 1900. In position as judge, he brought justice to the Eagle, Valdez, Fairbanks, Klondike and Nome districts until 1908, when he resigned to run for Congress. In 1909, he was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-first and to the next five succeeding Congresses serving until 1920. He was again elected to the Seventy-second Congress, serving (1931-33). An unsuccessful candidate for reelection, he resumed the practice of law in Juneau, Alaska, was editor of Alaska Territory Law Reports, the Old Yukon newspaper, plus wrote about Alaskan ethnological and historical subjects. Mount Wickersham Alaska, is named in his honor and The Wickersham Wall on Mount McKinley, was named after him.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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