Furnifold McLendel Simmons

Furnifold McLendel Simmons
United States Senator
from North Carolina
In office
March 4, 1901  March 4, 1931
Preceded by Marion Butler
Succeeded by Josiah Bailey
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889
Preceded by James E. O'Hara
Succeeded by Henry P. Cheatham
Personal details
Born (1854-01-20)January 20, 1854
Pollocksville, North Carolina
Died April 30, 1940(1940-04-30) (aged 86)
New Bern, North Carolina
Political party Democratic

Furnifold McLendel Simmons (January 20, 1854  April 30, 1940) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1887 to March 4, 1889 and U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between March 4, 1901 and March 4, 1931. He served as chairman of the powerful Committee on Finance from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1919. He was an unsuccessful contender for the 1920 Democratic Party nomination for president.

As a leader of the state Democratic Party, Simmons led the 1898-1900 White Supremacy campaigns that effectively disfranchised black voters for a half-century. From his Senate seat, he then ran a powerful political machine, using A. D. Watts "to keep the machine oiled back home," in the words of one journalist.[1]

Senator Simmons refused to endorse Al Smith, the Democratic nominee for president in 1928. This, together with the Great Depression, led to Simmons being defeated in the 1930 Democratic primary by Josiah W. Bailey, who was backed by Governor O. Max Gardner.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Furnifold McLendel Simmons.
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
James E. O'Hara
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 2nd congressional district

March 4, 1887 – March 4, 1889
Succeeded by
Henry P. Cheatham
United States Senate
Preceded by
Marion Butler
U.S. Senator (Class 1) from North Carolina
March 4, 1901 March 4, 1931
Served alongside: Jeter Connelly Pritchard, Lee Slater Overman, Cameron A. Morrison
Succeeded by
Josiah William Bailey
Political offices
Preceded by
Boies Penrose
Pennsylvania
Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1919
Succeeded by
Boies Penrose
Pennsylvania
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Francis E. Warren
Dean of the United States Senate
November 24, 1929 March 4, 1931
Succeeded by
Reed Smoot
Preceded by
Obadiah Gardner
Oldest living U.S. Senator
July 24, 1938 – April 30, 1940
Succeeded by
Fountain L. Thompson
Preceded by
Henry Heitfeld
Most Senior Living U.S. Senator
(Sitting or Former)

October 21, 1938 – April 30, 1940
Succeeded by
Reed Smoot


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