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In 2015 we celebrated the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of John William Wallace-librarian, court reporter, historian-who was born February 17, 1815 in Philadelphia and died on January 12, 1884. Known mostly as a reporter for the U.S. Supreme Court, this short biography tries to expand on some of the other accomplishments of his life. He was the son of John Bradford Wallace and Susan Binney, sister of the eminent Philadelphia lawyer, Horace Binney and descendant of the two famous printers in Pennsylvania, two William Bradfords in colonial Pennsylvania. Wallace studied law in his father's office and John Sergeant. He was admitted to the District Court of Philadelphia on October 27, 1836 and on the motion of William M. Meredith, to the Philadelphia bar on January 30, 1837. He then went to Europe for three years where he met several of the leading English jurists-Lord Chief Justice Campbell, Lord Chief Baron Pollock, and Sir Fitzroy Kelly-that he corresponded with over the years.

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