Irving Price Wanger was an American attorney and politician who dedicated several decades to public service in Pennsylvania during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in North Coventry Township, Pennsylvania, to Rebecca and George Wanger, he began his career in public administration early, serving as the deputy prothonotary of Chester County in 1871 before pursuing formal legal studies in Norristown. After being admitted to the bar in 1875, Wanger established a private practice and quickly became a prominent figure in local Republican politics.\n\nThroughout the 1870s and 1880s, Wanger held various local offices, including burgess of Norristown and district attorney of Montgomery County. His growing influence within the Republican Party led to his selection as a delegate to the 1880 Republican National Convention and his appointment as chairman of the Montgomery County Republican committee in 1889. Following an initial unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1890, Wanger was elected to the Fifty-third Congress and went on to serve nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.\n\nDuring his tenure in Washington, Wanger notably chaired the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department from the Fifty-fifth through the Sixty-first Congresses. After losing his bid for reelection in 1910, he briefly relocated to Wilmington, Delaware, before returning to Pennsylvania. He resumed his legal practice in Norristown and Media in 1920, continuing his professional work until his death in 1940.
