Richard Alsop Wise

Richard Alsop Wise

Richard Alsop Wise (born September 2, 1843 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , †  December 21, 1900 in Williamsburg , Virginia ) was an American politician . Between 1898 and 1900 he twice represented the state of Virginia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Richard Wise came from a well-known family of politicians. His father Henry A. Wise (1806–1876) was, among other things, governor and congressman for Virginia. His grandfather John Sergeant (1779-1852) was a member of Congress for Pennsylvania . His younger brother John (1846-1913) was like his cousin George D. Wise (1831-1908) Congressman for Virginia.

Wise attended private schools in Richmond , the Harrison Academy in Albemarle County, and then for two years the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg. During the Civil War he served in the Confederation Army . After the war, he studied medicine at the Medical College of Virginia . After that he practiced as a doctor. He also lectured at the College of William & Mary between 1869 and 1881. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Republican Party . Between 1879 and 1900, Wise was a delegate at all regional Republican conventions in Virginia. In 1892, 1896 and 1900 he also took part in the respective Republican National Conventions . Between 1882 and 1885 he directed the state mental hospital Eastern Lunatic Asylum of Virginia . He served in the Virginia House of Representatives from 1885 to 1887 . Between 1888 and 1894 he worked for the court administration in Williamsburg.

Both in the congressional elections of 1896 and in the elections of 1898 he ran unsuccessfully against the Democrat William Albin Young for Congress . In both cases he successfully appealed against the outcome of the election. This led to the fact that he ousted Young, who had started his legislative term, twice from Congress. Wise served as a member of Congress between April 26, 1898 and March 3, 1899, and then from March 12, 1900 until his death. He was buried in Richmond.

Web links

• Richard Alsop Wise in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Richard Alsop Wise in the database of Find a Grave (English)