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John Henry Wigmore
John Henry Wigmore (1863–1943) was an American lawyer and legal scholar known for his expertise in the law of evidence and for his influential scholarship. Wigmore taught law at Keio University in Tokyo (1889–1892) before becoming the first full-time dean of Northwestern Law School (1901–1929). His scholarship is best remembered for his Treatise on the Anglo-American System of Evidence in Trials at Common Law (1904), often simply called Wigmore on Evidence, and a graphical analysis method known as a Wigmore chart. He served as the second president of the American Association of University Professors.
John Henry Wigmore was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1863. His parents were John and Harriet Joyner Wigmore. He was named after his father, a self-made lumberyard owner. He was the second-oldest child of thirteen.
Wigmore attended Harvard University and earned the degrees A.B. in 1883 and A.M. in 1884. Following his undergraduate work, he returned to San Francisco briefly, but then moved back to Cambridge to attend Harvard Law School where he received his LL.B. in 1887.
Following law school, Wigmore's parents expected him to return to San Francisco to run the family business. Wigmore instead elected to stay in Boston, causing a rift to develop between himself and his parents. Wigmore married Emma Hunt Vogl (b. July 26, 1860, d. 1943) of Cambridge, whom he had met during law school, in September 1889. His parents did not attend the wedding. The couple departed for Tokyo just three days after their wedding.
Following his graduation from Harvard, Wigmore practiced law in Boston. While in practice, he served as a "long-distance clerk" for New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Doe and was mentored by future US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. Election law reform issues including the secret voting method (also known as the Australian Ballot), and fair ballot access laws.
In 1889, Wigmore was recruited as a foreign advisor to Meiji period Empire of Japan, and was assigned to teach law at Keio University in Tokyo. Wigmore was the only full-time professor at the university at the time and was "instrumental" in designing the law curriculum. He served at Keio University until 1892.
Once he arrived in Tokyo he "came under the spell of what is called Comparative Law", although his interest pre-dated his experiences in Japan. A key legacy of his time in Japan was a detailed study of the laws of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan, which he edited and published as a series of papers while at Keio University. The collection of papers grew to 15 volumes under the collected title of Materials for the Study of Private Law in Old Japan before its completion in the mid-1930s.
Wigmore maintained his interest in comparative law for the rest of his life,[citation needed] becoming a prominent writer in the field and has been referred to as the "father of American comparative law", although some critics found his work "imaginary" and "needlessly uncritical". Despite his prominence, he is remembered more for popularizing the field of comparative law than for his scholarly contributions to it. His continuing fascination with similarities between legal systems around the world is evident in a 1932 article: "The legal profession throughout the world has the strongest ties that ought to bind, - ties of sentiment, ties of public duty, ties of common experience in human nature."
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John Henry Wigmore
John Henry Wigmore (1863–1943) was an American lawyer and legal scholar known for his expertise in the law of evidence and for his influential scholarship. Wigmore taught law at Keio University in Tokyo (1889–1892) before becoming the first full-time dean of Northwestern Law School (1901–1929). His scholarship is best remembered for his Treatise on the Anglo-American System of Evidence in Trials at Common Law (1904), often simply called Wigmore on Evidence, and a graphical analysis method known as a Wigmore chart. He served as the second president of the American Association of University Professors.
John Henry Wigmore was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1863. His parents were John and Harriet Joyner Wigmore. He was named after his father, a self-made lumberyard owner. He was the second-oldest child of thirteen.
Wigmore attended Harvard University and earned the degrees A.B. in 1883 and A.M. in 1884. Following his undergraduate work, he returned to San Francisco briefly, but then moved back to Cambridge to attend Harvard Law School where he received his LL.B. in 1887.
Following law school, Wigmore's parents expected him to return to San Francisco to run the family business. Wigmore instead elected to stay in Boston, causing a rift to develop between himself and his parents. Wigmore married Emma Hunt Vogl (b. July 26, 1860, d. 1943) of Cambridge, whom he had met during law school, in September 1889. His parents did not attend the wedding. The couple departed for Tokyo just three days after their wedding.
Following his graduation from Harvard, Wigmore practiced law in Boston. While in practice, he served as a "long-distance clerk" for New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Doe and was mentored by future US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. Election law reform issues including the secret voting method (also known as the Australian Ballot), and fair ballot access laws.
In 1889, Wigmore was recruited as a foreign advisor to Meiji period Empire of Japan, and was assigned to teach law at Keio University in Tokyo. Wigmore was the only full-time professor at the university at the time and was "instrumental" in designing the law curriculum. He served at Keio University until 1892.
Once he arrived in Tokyo he "came under the spell of what is called Comparative Law", although his interest pre-dated his experiences in Japan. A key legacy of his time in Japan was a detailed study of the laws of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan, which he edited and published as a series of papers while at Keio University. The collection of papers grew to 15 volumes under the collected title of Materials for the Study of Private Law in Old Japan before its completion in the mid-1930s.
Wigmore maintained his interest in comparative law for the rest of his life,[citation needed] becoming a prominent writer in the field and has been referred to as the "father of American comparative law", although some critics found his work "imaginary" and "needlessly uncritical". Despite his prominence, he is remembered more for popularizing the field of comparative law than for his scholarly contributions to it. His continuing fascination with similarities between legal systems around the world is evident in a 1932 article: "The legal profession throughout the world has the strongest ties that ought to bind, - ties of sentiment, ties of public duty, ties of common experience in human nature."
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