Melvin Clark George

{{Infobox officeholder

|name= Melvin Clark George

|image name=Melvin Clark George.jpg

|state1= Oregon

|district1 = {{ushr|Oregon|AL|At-large}}

|party= Republican

|term_start1 = March 4, 1881

|term_end1 = March 3, 1885

|preceded1= John Whiteaker

|succeeded1= Binger Hermann

|office2 = Member of the Oregon Senate

|term_start2 = 1876

|term_end2 = 1880

|birth_date= May 13, 1849

|birth_place= Caldwell, Ohio

|death_date= February 22, 1933 (aged 83)

|death_place=Portland, Oregon

|spouse=Mary Eckler

|current occupation=

}}

Melvin Clark (or Clarke) George (May 13, 1849 – February 22, 1933) was an American politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Oregon from 1881 to 1885.

Early life

He was born near Caldwell, Ohio to Presley and Mahala Nickerson George.{{cite book|last=Corning|first=Howard M|title=Dictionary of Oregon History|publisher=Binfords & Mort Publishing|year=1956}} He moved with his parents over the Oregon Trail in 1851 and settled on a homestead near Lebanon in Linn County, Oregon. In Oregon he attended country schools, then Santiam Academy, and finally Willamette University in Salem.

He served as principal of the Albany schools and the Jefferson Institute in what would become Jefferson. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Portland in 1875.{{cite web|title=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress| publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office | url = http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000128| access-date = 2008-05-14}}

In 1873, he married Mary Eckler, with whom he had three children.{{cite magazine|title=Melvin Clark George, LL. D. |magazine=Oregon Native Son |volume=1 |issue=2 |date=1899 |edition=June |page=115 |publisher=Native Son Publishing Co. |location=Portland, Oregon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EcAUAAAAYAAJ}}

Political career

George served as member of the Oregon State Senate from Multnomah County from 1876 to 1880. In 1880, he was elected as a Republican to Oregon's at-large congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, defeating incumbent John Whiteaker by 1,397 votes.{{cite book|title=Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Oregon|last=Kincaid|first=H. R.|authorlink=Harrison R. Kincaid|year=1899|publisher=W. H. Leeds|location=Salem, Oregon|page=235|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3A4AAAAMAAJ&pg=RA3-PA23}} In 1882, he defeated Democrat William D. Fenton by 3,365 votes to become the first Oregon congressman to be re-elected to a second term. During his term in Congress, George promoted construction of jetties at the mouth of the Columbia River. He did not seek a third term in 1884.

After Congress

Following his term in Congress, George served as a professor of medical jurisprudence at Willamette University from 1885 to 1889. He then served on the Portland Public Schools board from 1889 to 1894,[https://www.pps.net/cms/lib/OR01913224/Centricity/Domain/219/Board%20Members%20Historical%20List%202021.pdf Portland Public Schools Board Members 1851 to Present] and in 1891 was appointed chairman of the Portland bridge commission, which sought to provide free bridges throughout the city. In this capacity, George oversaw the construction of the Burnside Bridge. George Park in the St. Johns neighborhood of Portland is named in his honor,{{cite web|url=http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=148|publisher=Portland Parks and Recreation|title=George Park|access-date=2008-05-14}} as is George Middle School.[https://oregondigital.org/catalog/oregondigital:df67rn599 Oregon Historic Site Form]

George also served as a state circuit court judge for Multnomah County from 1897 to 1905, and then practiced law in Portland until his death in Portland on February 22, 1933. He is interred at Lone Fir Cemetery.