George Henley
George Washington Henley, Jr. was a Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court for two months, from March 15, 1955 to May 23, 1955.
Born in Washington, D.C., Henley received an A.B. from Indiana University in 1913, and followed by an LL.B. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 1914. Having been admitted to the bar that year, he entered private practice and "represented a variety of corporate clients", also serving as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1937 to 1947. He thereafter became a director of the Monon Railroad.
On February 25, 1955, Justice Frank E. Gilkison died, leaving a vacancy on the court. On March 15, 1955, Governor George N. Craig appointed Henley to the seat. Henley agreed to the appointment with the understanding that he would serve until the end of the court's term, on May 21, as he could not afford to be away from his private practice longer than that. Henley "told the press that he did not want the appointment, but he only wanted the prestige of having served". On April 14, 1955, Craig announced Henley's imminent resignation, and on May 23, 1955, Craig appointed Norman Arterburn to the seat, supplanting Henley; Arterburn would go on to serve for 22 years.
Henley died in Bloomington, Indiana, and was eulogized by Indiana University chancellor Herman B Wells, and interred in Rose Hill Cemetery.
