Burton L. French
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIdaho's1st district
In office March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1933
Preceded by	Himself (as At-Large District Congressman)
Succeeded by	Compton White, Sr.
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIdaho'sat-large district
In office March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1919
Preceded by	Robert M. McCracken
Succeeded by	Himself (as 1st district Congressman)
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIdaho'sat-large district
In office March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1915
Preceded by	Thomas Ray Hamer
Succeeded by	Robert M. McCracken
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIdaho'sat-large district
In office March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1909
Preceded by	Thomas L. Glenn
Succeeded by	Thomas Ray Hamer
Member of theIdaho state legislature
In office 1898-1902
Personal details
Born	Burton Lee French (1875-08-01)August 1, 1875 Carroll County, Indiana, U.S.
Died	September 12, 1954(1954-09-12) (aged 79) Hamilton, Ohio, U.S.
Resting place	Moscow Cemetery,Moscow, Idaho, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Winifred Estel Hartley French (m. 1904–1934, her death)[1]
Children	1
Residence(s)	Moscow, Idaho, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Idaho, 1901 University of Chicago, Ph.M. 1903, read law
Profession	Attorney

Burton Lee French (August 1, 1875 – September 12, 1954) was acongressman fromIdaho. French served as aRepublican in the House from 1903 to 1909, 1911 to 1915 and 1917 to 1933. With a combined 26 years in office, he remains the longest-serving U.S. House member in Idaho history.

Burton Lee French was born inDelphi, Indiana, to Mina Philippena French (née Fisher) and Charles Albert French.^[2] The fourth of nine children, he moved with his parents in 1880 toKearney, Nebraska, and toPrinceton, Idaho viaSan Francisco two years later. A year later they moved toPalouse, Washington, and French attended public schools and graduated in 1891. French entered theUniversity of Idaho atMoscow in 1893, but interrupted his studies to teach school inKendrick andJuliaetta, Idaho. He finished his degree in 1901 and then was a fellow at theUniversity of Chicago 1901–1903 in political science and studied law. He wasadmitted to the bar and commenced practice back in Idaho at Moscow.^[3] French was a member of thestate legislature from 1898 to 1902, first elected while an undergraduate student. While in the legislature, he met his wife, Winfred E. Hartley. She was a Boise schoolteacher from Nebraska and they were married in 1904. They had a daughter that died as an infant in 1908.^[2]

French was first elected to Congress in 1902 at age 27 and won his last election in 1930.^[4] He was originally elected as the sole at-large member from Idaho, representing the entire state. Idaho gained a second seat for the 1912 election and both seats were at-large through the 1916 election. Beginning with the 1918 election, French represented the state'sFirst Congressional District, with the term commencing in March 1919.

French died inOhio in 1954 after a year's battle withleukemia.^[2] He had been a professor atMiami University inOxford, Ohio, from 1935 to 1947, when he retired. His wife had died of an extended illness twenty years earlier in 1934 in Moscow^[1] and both are buried at Moscow Cemetery east of the city, with their infant daughter (1908).^[6]

 This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.

• United States Congress."Burton L. French (id: F000375)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• University of Idaho Library – Burton Lee French (1875–1954) papers, 1890–1954
• Political Graveyard – Burton L. French
• Burton L. French atFind a Grave

• American Presbyterians
• 1875 births
• 1954 deaths
• People from Moscow, Idaho
• People from Delphi, Indiana
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Idaho
• People from Palouse, Washington
• Phi Delta Theta members
• 20th-century United States representatives

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress