George L. Paddison

George Lucas Paddison (born in Burgaw, North Carolina in 1883; died, 1954)

George Paddison, a native of North Carolina, studied chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1905. He studied further at Kentucky State University and received a Master's degree in Chemistry. Afterwards Paddison taught as assistant professor of Chemistry at the University of Mississippi while he earned a degree in law. Upon completing his law degree, Paddison practiced law in Greenwood, Mississippi for five years. In 1914 Paddison took a position with West Publishing Company, where he would work for 32 years, retiring in 1946 as supervisor of sales. West Publishing Co. produced law books, primarily. Upon retiring he returned to North Carolina.

Upon his death he established, by bequest, an endowment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of Classics there. This endowment established permanent faculty positions in Classics. The Paddison chair has been held by several luminaries in the field of Classical studies, including Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton, Robert John Getty, George Alexander Kennedy, and Jerzy Linderski. Current Paddison professors at UNC are William H. Race and James O'Hara.