George P. Sanger

George Partridge Sanger (November 27, 1819 – July 3, 1890) was an American lawyer, editor, judge, and businessman who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1873 to 1886 and was the first president of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Early life

Sanger was born on November 27, 1819 in Dover, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1840 and after spending two years as a teacher in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, returned to Harvard as a Latin tutor and a law student.

Legal career

Sanger graduated from Harvard Law School in 1844 and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He spent the next three years practicing law in Boston, first with Stephen Henry Phillips, and later with Charles G. Davis. In 1849 Sanger was named Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

Sanger was a member of the Charlestown, Massachusetts Common Council from 1849 to 1850 and the Board of Aldermen from 1851 to 1853.

In January 1853, he was appointed to the staff of Governor John H. Clifford. In September of that year he was appointed District Attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The following year he was appointed Judge of the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas. He remained on the bench until the Court was abolished in 1859.