George L. (George Lewis) Canfield

Born in Detroit in 1866, George Lewis Canfield built his career in the law and became closely associated with admiralty practice in the Great Lakes region. Contemporary and historical records identify him as a prominent Detroit attorney, and a brief history of Miller Canfield notes that he joined his father F. H. Canfield in practice in 1892 and that the Canfields were known as leading specialists in admiralty law in the Midwest.

He is most closely linked with The Law of the Sea, published in 1921 and later reissued, which he wrote with George Walton Dalzell. The book was designed as a manual of admiralty law for students, mariners, and ship operators, suggesting the practical audience he aimed to reach.

Canfield died in 1928. Although not widely remembered today outside legal history, his writing stands out for bringing a technical area of law to readers who needed a working understanding of maritime rules and responsibilities.