Sharswood, George

Sharswood, George

(1810–83) judge; born in Philadelphia. He took his B.A. degree at the University of Pennsylvania (1828), read law, and commenced his private practice in 1831. He was a Pennsylvania district judge (1845–67), then served on the state supreme court (1868–82). Considered a great judge (only 32 out of some 4,000 cases were reversed on appeal), he was also dean of the University of Pennsylvania law school (1852–68), a University of Pennsylvania trustee (1872–83), and director of the Princeton Theological Seminary. He wrote and edited many volumes on law.