George F. Edmunds (1828–1919)

Author of the infamous Edmunds Act by which thousands of Mormon polygamists were imprisoned and the entire church leadership driven underground.

Born	February 1, 1828 in Richmond, Vermont	Webster's American Biographies, (Springfield, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Company, 1975) 312–313.
Died	March 12, 1919 in Pasadena, California

Positions	Vermont legislature 1854–1855, 1857–1859, the last three as speaker.
	Vermont state senate 1861–1862 as president pro tem.
	U.S. Senate, 1866 appointed to fill an unexpired term (R), regularly reelected
	Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee 1872–1891, except 1879–1881 when Democrats controlled the Senate.
Events	Studied law in Burlington, and was admitted to the bar in 1849.
	As a senator associated with the Radical Republians. Helped organize rules and procedures for the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson (voted for conviction).
	Drafted the Civl Rights Act (1875) that was invalidated by the Supreme Court.
	Member of the Electoral Commission that decided the disputed presidential election of 1876, a decision that was overturned by the Supreme Court.
	Edmunds Act of 1882, the only legislation to bear his name.
	Major contributor to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890.
	"In his later years he was an imposing, patrician figure in the Senate, respected but also feared for his acerb sarcasm and his intolerance of legislation or legislators he felt to be below his high standards of statesmanship."
	Resigned from the Senate in 1891, practiced law in Philadelphia for several years.
	Successfully argued against the constitutionality of the 1894 Wilson-Gorman Tarriff Act's income tax provisions.
	Retired to Pasadena, California, where he died.
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