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Wigmore Club

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John Henry Wigmore’s impact on the Law School reached further than his most notable achievement as the law school’s first full-time dean. His positive influence was felt as a celebrated scholar, a global-thinker, and an advocate for the public good. In honor of his legacy, individuals who provide significant annual support to the Law School are inducted as members of the John Henry Wigmore Club, a giving society that was organized in 1962 to foster and stimulate the ideals of its namesake.

Wigmore Club members appreciate special opportunities because of their great commitment to the Law School. Members enjoy exclusive benefits such as updates from the dean of the Law School, early invites and reserved seating at VIP events, exclusive digital programing, and more. In addition, Wigmore Club members enjoy mutual membership in the Northwestern University Leadership Circle (NULC). Northwestern Pritzker Law alumni who have graduated within the past 14 years are invited to join the Young Wigmore Club at special giving levels. Designed to engage a new generation of leadership donors, the giving rates are scaled according to years since graduation (see details below). 

Matching gifts count toward Wigmore Club participation. Check here to see if your employer (or your spouse’s employer) will match your gift. You can also become a Wigmore Club member through a recurring gift of just $209 per month!

Membership Levels

Dean’s Circle

 $10,000+
Fellow   
$5,000 - $9,999
Associate   
$2,500 - $4,999
Young Wigmore
 See new Young Wigmore levels for recent law alumni, effective in fiscal year 2026, here.



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John Henry Wigmore

 

John Henry Wigmore served as the Law School's dean from 1901 to 1929 and as a member of its faculty until his death in 1943. Wigmore was a prolific scholar who penned the seminal Treatise on Evidence.

 

Prior to his time at Northwestern, Wigmore spent three years in Japan helping establish a western-style law school. He learned to speak Japanese, became competent at fencing, and played shortstop on Tokyo's first baseball team. He returned to the U.S. to join the Northwestern Law faculty in 1893.

As dean emeritus, Wigmore helped establish Chicago's Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory to help city police fight organized crime in the wake of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The lab offered practical forensic training on subjects such as fingerprints and firearms, detecting explosives, unraveling forgeries, polygraph testing and using photography to preserve evidence.

Wigmore also published a collection of songs entitled "Lyrics for a Lawyer's Leisure."

Wigmore's old chair from the faculty room of Levy Mayer Hall sits in the office of Ron Allen, Northwestern's John Henry Wigmore Professor of Law.