George Allison Wilson (April 1, 1884 – September 8, 1953) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and 28th Governor of Iowa.

Personal background

Born on a farm near

Menlo, Iowa Menlo is a city in Guthrie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 345 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Menlo was laid out in 1869. Menlo was first ...

, Wilson attended rural schools, and

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who we ...

. He graduated from the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. Iowa is ranked the 28th-best law school in the United States by the '' U.S. News & World Report'' "Best Law Sch ...

at Iowa City in 1907, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

the same year. He then commenced practice in Des Moines. He was assistant county attorney of Polk County, Iowa from 1912 to 1914 and the Polk County Attorney from 1915 to 1916. He was a district judge from 1917 to 1921 and was a member of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

from 1927 to 1936.

Iowa Governor and U.S. Senator

In 1936, Iowa's governor, Democrat

Clyde Herring Clyde LaVerne Herring (May 3, 1879September 15, 1945), an American Democratic politician who served as the 26th governor of Iowa, and then one of its U.S. senators, during the last part of the Great Depression and the first part of World War ...

, ran for the U.S. Senate instead of running for re-election. Wilson won the Republican nomination to succeed him as governor, but was defeated by Democrat Nelson G. Kraschel in the general election by fewer than 3,000 votes out of over one million cast.Iowa Gubernatorial Elections, 1846-2006
at 5. In 1938, Wilson again ran against Kraschel, with the opposite result. Wilson received 52.7 percent of the vote. Wilson was then re-elected as governor in 1940, winning again by 52.7 percent in the general election over Democrat John Valentine after overcoming a surprisingly strong challenge in the Republican primary from future Congressman H.R. Gross. Instead of running for a third term in 1942, Wilson decided to challenge Senator

Clyde L. Herring Clyde LaVerne Herring (May 3, 1879September 15, 1945), an American Democratic politician who served as the 26th governor of Iowa, and then one of its U.S. senators, during the last part of the Great Depression and the first part of World Wa ...

, and defeated him. He served in the Senate from January 14, 1943, to January 3, 1949. His Senate committees included the Committee on Small Business and the Armed Services Committee. In 1948, former U.S. Senator Guy M. Gillette, unseated in his own bid for re-election in 1944, ran against Wilson in the general election. Wilson was expected to win. However, in a year in which President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

and many other Democrats surprised pundits, Gillette defeated Wilson by over 150,000 votes.

After the Senate

After leaving the Senate in early 1949, Wilson returned to the practice of law. Wilson died in Des Moines in 1953, and was interred in Glendale Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, George Allison 1884 births 1953 deaths Republican Party Iowa state senators Iowa state court judges Republican Party governors of Iowa Grinnell College alumni University of Iowa College of Law alumni People from Guthrie County, Iowa Republican Party United States senators from Iowa 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers