George Grafton Wilson (Plainfield, Connecticut, 29 March 1863 –Cambridge, Massachusetts, 30 April 1951) was a professor ofInternational Law during the first half of the 20th century.[1][2] He served on the faculties ofBrown University,Harvard University, TheFletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and the U.S.Naval War College.
The son of Archibald A. Wilson and his wife, Betsey L. Brown, Wilson earned all three of his academic degrees atBrown University, taking hisA.B. in 1886, hisA.M. in 1888 and hisPh.D. in 1891. He went to Europe and studied atHeidelberg University,Berlin University,University of Paris andOxford University in 1890-91. On his return, he married Elizabeth Rose on June 30, 1891, with whom he was to have four children: Grafton Lee Wilson, Miriam Wilson (Mrs. Paul Harrison Arthur), Rose Wilson (Mrs. Harry Gray Anderson), and Brayton Fuller Wilson.
Wilson's first appointment was as principal of schools,Groton, Connecticut, 1886–87, and then Principal, Rutland High School,Rutland, Vermont in 1889-90. In 1891,Brown University appointed him associate professor ofsocial andpolitical sciences and he was promoted to fullprofessor in 1894. In 1910,Harvard University appointed him professor of International Law, an academic post he held until he retired in 1936.
During this same period, he served as professor of International Law at the U.S.Naval War College from 1900 to 1937. In addition, he was appointed professor of International Law at theFletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1933 for a number of years. He served as special counsel, U.S. Maritime Commn., 1941–1945; lecturer in International Law at theUniversity of Hawaii, 2d semester, 1937.
On overseas assignments, he was an American delegate plenipotentiary to theLondon Naval Conference in 1908-09; counselor at the American Legation at The Hague during the early period ofWorld War I from 1914. He served as an exchange professor to France in 1912-13. At the Hague in August 1914 Wilson aided U.S. Minister Henry Van Dyke to alleviate the distress of American travelers stranded in Europe by the war. He served as Legal adviser for the U.S. mission for return of Dutch ships in 1919 and was a member of the legal staff at theWashington Naval Conference in 1921-22. In 1923, he was lecturer atThe Hague Academy of International Law. He was the American member of the International Commission for the United States and The Netherlands in 1928. In 1928, he was designated byNicaragua as member of the International Central American Tribunal.
He served as a member of the board of editors of theAmerican Journal of International Law from 1907, becoming Law editor-in-chief, 1924–43 and then honorary editor-in-chief from 1943. He was also director of theRevue de Droit International from 1913 and Membre de l’Institut de Droit International; member of theAmerican Philosophical Society;[3] fellow and later vice president of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences and vice president of theAmerican Society of International Law.
