Attorney and diplomat. The son of Senator Samuel Phelps, he graduated from Middlebury College in 1840, studied law at Yale, and began practicing in 1843. From 1851 to 1853 he was Second Comptroller of the US Treasury. Phelps was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1880. He was a founder of the American Bar Association, serving as president from 1880 to 1881. He was professor of law at Yale, the University of Vermont and Boston University from 1881 to 1887. From 1885 to 1889 he was Ambassador to Great Britain. President Cleveland intended to appoint him as U.S. chief justice in 1888, but did not out of concern that his work in Great Britain would cause Democrats to lose the support of Irish-Americans.
Attorney and diplomat. The son of Senator Samuel Phelps, he graduated from Middlebury College in 1840, studied law at Yale, and began practicing in 1843. From 1851 to 1853 he was Second Comptroller of the US Treasury. Phelps was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1880. He was a founder of the American Bar Association, serving as president from 1880 to 1881. He was professor of law at Yale, the University of Vermont and Boston University from 1881 to 1887. From 1885 to 1889 he was Ambassador to Great Britain. President Cleveland intended to appoint him as U.S. chief justice in 1888, but did not out of concern that his work in Great Britain would cause Democrats to lose the support of Irish-Americans.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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