Joseph Henry Lumpkin

1799-1867

Joseph Henry Lumpkin founded the University of Georgia School of Law in 1859, in collaboration with his son-in-law, Thomas R.R. Cobb, and colleague, William Hope Hull. Classes were first taught in Lumpkin's law office at the corner of Prince Avenue and Pulaski Street in downtown Athens at what was then the Lumpkin Law School. Lumpkin, born in Oglethorpe County in 1799, was a distinguished lawyer and statesman and a major figure in Georgia public affairs. In 1824, he was elected to a two-year term in the Georgia legislature and in 1833, he helped frame the state penal code. In 1845, Lumpkin became the first chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, where he served continuously until his death in 1867.