George Turner (February 25, 1850January 26, 1932) was a jurist and diplomat who served one term as a

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Born in

Edina, Missouri Edina is a city in Knox County, Missouri, United States, between the North and South Forks of the South Fabius River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,012. It is the county seat of Knox County. Geography Edina is located in central ...

, he attended the common schools and served as a military telegraph operator with the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

from 1861 to 1865. He studied law, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1869, commencing practice in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. From 1876 to 1880, he was

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...

for the Southern District of Alabama and Middle District of Alabama, and served as Chairman of the

Alabama Republican Party The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. T ...

from 1882-1884. Shortly thereafter he re-located to the Territory of Washington in the Pacific Northwest where he was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Washington from 1885 to 1888. He resumed the practice of law in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

in 1888 and was also interested in mining. He was a member of the Territorial Convention in 1889 that framed the first Washington Constitution, the state constitution of Washington, which had recently been admitted to the Union. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the U.S. Senate in 1889 and 1893; he was elected on a

fusion ticket Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. It is distinct from the process of electoral alliances in that the political parties remain separa ...

with Silver Republicans, Democrats, and

Populists Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

support to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1897, to March 3, 1903; he lost re-election and resumed the practice of law in Spokane. In 1903, he was a member of the

Alaska Boundary Tribunal The Alaska boundary dispute was a territorial dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which then controlled Canada's foreign relations. It was resolved by arbitration in 1903. The dispute had existed ...

and was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 1904. He was counsel for the United States at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in the northeastern fisheries

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

with Great Britain in 1910, and was appointed by President

William H. Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

as a member of the

International Joint Commission The International Joint Commission (french: Commission mixte internationale) is a bi-national organization established by the governments of the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Its responsibilities were expa ...

, created to prevent disputes regarding the use of boundary waters between the United States and Canada from 1911 to 1914. He was counsel for the United States before the International Joint Commission from 1918 to 1924 and practiced law in Spokane. He died there in 1932 and is interred at Greenwood Cemetery.

Mount Turner Mount Turner is a mountain summit located in the upper Spray River Valley of southern Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. Mount Turner in not visible from any road in Banff Park, however, it can be seen from Alber ...

on the Alaska-British Columbia border was named for him.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, George 1850 births 1932 deaths People from Edina, Missouri Alabama Republicans Washington (state) Republicans Democratic Party United States senators from Washington (state) Silver Republican Party United States senators from Washington (state) Washington (state) Democrats Justices of the Washington Supreme Court United States Marshals Union Army personnel