Gilbert Hitchcock

Gilbert Hitchcock
United States Senator
from Nebraska
In office
March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1923
Preceded by Elmer Burkett
Succeeded by Robert B. Howell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Nebraska's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1905
Preceded by David Henry Mercer
Succeeded by John L. Kennedy
In office
March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1911
Preceded by John L. Kennedy
Succeeded by Charles O. Lobeck
Personal details
Born Gilbert Monell Hitchcock
(1859-09-18)September 18, 1859
Omaha, Nebraska
Died February 3, 1934(1934-02-03) (aged 74)
Washington, D.C.
Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Omaha, Nebraska
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Jessie Crounse Hitchcock
(1861–1925)
Alma mater University of Michigan
Law School

Gilbert Monell Hitchcock (September 18, 1859 – February 3, 1934) was a congressman and U.S. Senator from Nebraska, and the founder of the Omaha World-Herald newspaper.[1]

Life and career

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Hitchcock was the son of U.S. Senator Phineas Warren Hitchcock of Nebraska. He attended the public schools of Omaha and the gymnasium at Baden-Baden, Germany. He graduated in 1881 from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity;[2] he was then admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Omaha in 1882. He continued the practice of law until 1885, when he established and edited the Omaha Evening World; four years later, he purchased the Nebraska Morning Herald and consolidated the two into the morning and evening editions of the Omaha World-Herald.[3]

In 1883 he married Jessie Crounse, the daughter of Nebraska Supreme Court justice and future governor Lorenzo Crounse.

His family had traditionally been Republicans, but Gilbert broke tradition and became a Democrat in response to agricultural issues and the leadership of fellow Nebraskan William Jennings Bryan.[4]

Hitchcock was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the Congress in 1898; four years later, he was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1905). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1904 to the Fifty-ninth Congress. Hitchcock was elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth and Sixty-first Congresses (March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1911).

He did not seek renomination in 1910, having become a candidate for the United States Senate. Hitchcock was elected as a Democrat to the Senate by the legislature on January 18, 1911; he was reelected (by direct election) in 1916 and served from March 4, 1911, to March 3, 1923. During his two terms, he was the chairman of the Committee on the Philippines (Sixty-third through Sixty-fifth Congresses), the Committee on Foreign Relations (a portion of the Sixty-fifth Congress), and the Committee on Forest Reservations and Game Protection (Sixty-sixth Congress). As Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he was a leading advocate of the League of Nations [4] and the Treaty of Versailles.[5]

Hitchcock was unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 and for election in 1930. After the end of his Senate service, he resumed newspaper work in Omaha. He retired from active business in 1933 and moved to Washington, D.C., where he died on February 3, 1934.[1] He was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Omaha. Gilbert M. Hitchcock Elementary School and Hitchcock Park in Omaha were named in his honor.[6]

The newspaper was then led by his son-in-law Henry Doorly, husband of Hitchcock's daughter Margaret.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Nebraska Democrat dies in Washington". Kentucky New Era. Hopkinsville. Associated Press. February 3, 1934. p. 1.
  2. ↑ Baird, William Raymond (1915). Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, pp.349-355
  3. ↑ Walter, Katherine. "Early Nebraska Journalists". Nebraska Newspapers. University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  4. 1 2 "Biography: Gilbert Monell Hitchcock". Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  5. ↑ "Hitchcock, Gilbert Monell". Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  6. ↑ "Omaha Public Schools". Retrieved 2009-10-15.

Further reading

Wikisource has original works written by or about:
Gilbert M. Hitchcock
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gilbert Hitchcock.
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
David Henry Mercer		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
1903–1905 		Succeeded by
John L. Kennedy
Preceded by
John L. Kennedy		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
1907–1911 		Succeeded by
Charles O. Lobeck
United States Senate
Preceded by
Elmer J. Burkett		 United States Senator from Nebraska (Class 1)
1911–1923 		Succeeded by
Robert B. Howell
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.