:''Alternate meaning:
Pierpont Edwards''
'Edwards Pierrepont' (
March 4,
1817 –
March 6,
1892) was an
American statesman, jurist and lawyer.
Born in
North Haven, Connecticut, he graduated from
Yale University and
New Haven Law School, was admitted to the bar in 1840 and practiced law in
Columbus, Ohio, from 1840 to 1845. He moved to
New York and served as judge of the
New York Supreme Court from 1857 to 1860.
In 1862, during the
American Civil War Pierrepont was made a member of the military commission for the cases of state prisoners in the custody of the federal military authorities. In 1867 he conducted the case for the government against
John H. Surratt, indicted as an accomplice in the murder of
Lincoln[1] and in 1867 became a member of the New York constitutional convention. From 1869 to 1870 he served as
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Pierrepont
Attorney General of the United States on
April 26,
1875. He was an active member of the "
Committee of Seventy." In
May 22,
1876 he became
Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States to Britain, serving until
December 1,
1877. Pierrepont died in
New York City two days after his 75th birthday on
March 6,
1892, where he had lived after his return from England. He is buried at St. Philip's Cemetery, in
Garrison, New York.
References
★
Department of Justice biography