George Washington Lee (January 4, 1894 – August 1, 1976) was an African-American soldier, writer, political leader and corporate executive.

When the hotel's manager died in 1916, Lee demonstrated his skill at writing and composed a eulogy to his former boss which was published in a Memphis newspaper.

[1] At the outbreak of World War I, Lee was determined to enter the Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School in Iowa.

[1] Lieutenant Lee received an honorable discharge in 1919, and returned to Memphis, where he soon found employment as a salesman with the black-owned Mississippi Life Insurance Company.

Lee went on to join the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, where he became a senior vice-president, and continued to work until his death in a car wreck on August 1, 1976, at the age of 82.

[1][2] George Lee was active in the Republican Party, and in the 1928 presidential election served as national director of "Veterans for Hoover".