“The U.S. House of Representatives - Portraits of Congressmen” (detail), Once a Week newspaper,1891, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

COOPER, George William, a Representative from Indiana; born near Columbus, Bartholomew County, Ind., May 21, 1851; attended the country schools, and was graduated in the academic and law courses from the Indiana University at Bloomington in 1872; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Columbus, Ind.; prosecuting attorney of Columbus in 1872; mayor of Columbus in 1877; city attorney of Columbus 1879-1883; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1889-March 3, 1895); chairman, Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands (Fifty-third Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress; resumed the practice of law in Columbus, Ind.; died in Chicago, Ill., November 27, 1899; interment in Garland Brook Cemetery, Columbus, Ind.