Wisconsin educator, government official, lawyer, and noted Lincoln student George P. Hambrecht was born in Milwaukee on February 1, 1871. He attended the University of Wisconsin from 1892-1895 and received a bachelor of philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1903. One year later Hambrecht received his law degree from Yale University. Before completing his undergraduate degree (1899 to 1902) Hambrecht was superintendent of schools in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, and from 1908 to 1915 he was that community's city attorney. During the latter period he also served as a member of the state Assembly.
In 1915 Hambrecht was appointed to the Wisconsin Industrial Commission, and in 1917 he was named chairman of the commission. During World War I he also served as chairman of the state War Labor Board and as director of the National Safety Council. In 1921 Hambrecht became director of the State Board of Vocational Education, a position which he still held at the time of his death in 1943.
In addition to his notable career in public service Hambrecht was a well-known student of the life of Abraham Lincoln. He was the first head of the Wisconsin Lincoln Fellowship, and at one time his collection of Lincolniana was regarded as one of the largest in the nation.
