Benjamin Pixley Birdsall | |
|---|---|
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| District judge of the11th judicial district ofIowa | |
| In office January 1893 – October 1900 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's3rd district | |
| In office March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1909 | |
| Preceded by | David B. Henderson |
| Succeeded by | Charles E. Pickett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1858-10-26)October 26, 1858 |
| Died | May 16, 1916(1916-05-16) (aged 57) Clarion, Iowa, U.S. |
| Resting place | Evergreen Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | University of Iowa |
Benjamin Pixley Birdsall (October 26, 1858 – May 16, 1916[1]) was a three-term RepublicanU.S. Representative fromIowa's 3rd congressional district during the first decade of the 20th century.
Born inWeyauwega, Wisconsin, Birdsall attended the common schools of Iowa and theUniversity of Iowa,Iowa City. He studied law, wasadmitted to the bar in 1878 and practiced inClarion, Iowa. He served as district judge of the eleventh judicial district of Iowa from January 1893 to October 1900.
In 1902, Birdsall was elected as aRepublican to theFifty-eighth Congress, after the incumbent,Speaker of the United States House of RepresentativesDavid B. Henderson chose not to run for re-election. Birdsall defeated former Iowa GovernorHorace Boies in that race. He was re-elected twice, serving in theFifty-ninth, andSixtieth Congresses.
According to the November 1903 Congressional Directory, Birdsall "has been twice married—his first wife, Bertha H. Shultz, deceased 1886; remarried in 1888 to Belle Johnston, of Clarion."[2]
In 1908, he filed for re-election a third time, but fellow RepublicansBurton E. Sweet andCharles E. Pickett also sought the Republican nomination.[3] In February 1908 Birdsall pulled out of the race, explaining that he wished to return to the practice of law.[4] In all he served in Congress from March 4, 1903 to March 3, 1909. He resumed the practice of law in Clarion, where he died on May 16, 1916.[5] He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 3rd congressional district 1903–1909 | Succeeded by |
