Charles Nagel
4th United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor
In office March 6, 1909 – March 4, 1913
President	William Howard Taft
Preceded by	Oscar Straus
Succeeded by	William Redfield(Commerce) William Wilson(Labor)
Personal details
Born	(1849-08-09)August 9, 1849 Colorado County, Texas, U.S.
Died	January 5, 1940(1940-01-05) (aged 90) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Fannie Brandeis ​ ​ (m. 1876; died 1889)​ Anne Shepley ​ (m. 1895)​
Children	Charles Nagel, Jr.
Relatives	Louis Brandeis (brother-in-law)
Education	Washington University(LLB) University of Berlin
Signature

Charles Nagel (August 9, 1849 – January 5, 1940) was a United States politician and lawyer fromSt. Louis, Missouri. He wasSecretary of Commerce and Labor duringPresidentWilliam Howard Taft's administration (1909–1913) and was one of the key founders of theUnited States Chamber of Commerce.

Nagel was born on August 9, 1849, inColorado County, Texas, the son of Friedericke (Litzmann) and Hermann Nagel.^[1] Nagel moved to a boarding school in St. Louis, Missouri, for high school and stayed to study law atWashington University School of Law. He graduated with his law degree in 1872. Nagel furthered his education by traveling to Europe and learning political economy at theUniversity of Berlin.

Returning to St. Louis in 1873, Nagel joined the state bar and began to practice law. He was a member of the firm Finkelnburg, Nagel and Kirby, and later of Nagel and Kirby. His first foray into politics came when he won election to theMissouri House of Representatives in 1881, where he served until 1883. He was president of theSt. Louis city council from 1893 to 1897. He also taught at St. Louis Law School (1885–1909) and was a member of theRepublican National Committee (1908–1912).

Nagel was a corporate attorney forAdolphus Busch whenPresidentWilliam Howard Taft chose him, in 1909, asSecretary of Commerce and Labor, a position he held until the end of the Taft administration in 1913. He was the last person to serve in the post before it was separated to twocabinet positions,Secretary of Commerce andSecretary of Labor. While heading the Department of Commerce and Labor, Nagel made it more accessible to the needs of businessmen while also expanding the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization.

Nagel was also a founder of the United States Chamber of Commerce. Following his time in the cabinet, Nagel returned to the practice of law, arguing before the Supreme Court three times before his death. He died in St. Louis, Missouri on January 5, 1940, and was interred there inBellefontaine Cemetery.^[2]

Nagel was married twice: first, in 1876, to Fannie Brandeis, the sister ofLouis Dembitz Brandeis, later aSupreme Court justice. She died in 1889 and he married Anne Shepley in 1895. He had six children, includingCharles Nagel, Jr., an architect and curator.^[1]

• Charles Nagel atThe Political Graveyard
• Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920)."Nagel, Charles" .Encyclopedia Americana.
• Ragan, Cooper K."Nagel, Charles".Handbook of Texas Online. RetrievedMarch 11, 2011.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCharles Nagel.

• Charles Nagel papers (MS 364). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.

• 1849 births
• 1940 deaths
• Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery
• Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives
• American people of German descent
• Politicians from St. Louis
• Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri
• Taft administration cabinet members
• 20th-century American politicians
• United States Chamber of Commerce people
• United States secretaries of commerce and labor
• Washington University School of Law alumni
• Washington University in St. Louis faculty
• Lawyers from St. Louis
• 19th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly

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