Theodore E. Burton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Burton in 1905 | |
| United States Senator fromOhio | |
| In office December 15, 1928 – October 28, 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Cyrus Locher |
| Succeeded by | Roscoe C. McCulloch |
| In office March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1915 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph B. Foraker |
| Succeeded by | Warren G. Harding |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromOhio | |
| In office March 4, 1921 – December 15, 1928 | |
| Preceded by | Henry I. Emerson |
| Succeeded by | Chester C. Bolton |
| Constituency | 22nd district |
| In office March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1909 | |
| Preceded by | Tom L. Johnson |
| Succeeded by | James H. Cassidy |
| Constituency | 21st district |
| In office March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | |
| Preceded by | Martin A. Foran |
| Succeeded by | Tom L. Johnson |
| Constituency | 21st district |
| Member of the Cleveland City Council | |
| In office 1886–1888 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Theodore Elijah Burton (1851-12-20)December 20, 1851 Jefferson, Ohio, US |
| Died | October 28, 1929(1929-10-28) (aged 77) Washington, D.C., US |
| Resting place | Lake View Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Grinnell College Oberlin College (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Theodore Elijah Burton (December 20, 1851 – October 28, 1929) was an American attorney andRepublican politician fromOhio. He served in theUnited States House of Representatives, theU.S. Senate, and theCleveland City Council.
Burton was born inJefferson,Ashtabula County, Ohio, the son of Elizabeth (Grant) and The Rev. William Burton.[1] He attended the public schools,Grand River Institute, Austinburg, Ohio, andIowa College,Grinnell, Iowa. He graduated fromOberlin College in 1872. He studied law in Chicago withLyman Trumbull, friend ofLincoln, and Senator of the United States for eighteen years.[2] He commenced the practice of law in 1875, becoming a prominent attorney inCleveland. His first public office was member ofCleveland City Council,[2] serving from 1886 through 1888, after which time he was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives.[3]
He was elected to the House of Representatives for theFifty-first United States Congress in 1888 from the Ohio 21st District in Cleveland but was defeated for re-election in 1890 by his Democratic Party opponent,Tom L. Johnson. He was not the Republican nominee in 1892, but was nominated again in 1894 and won election to theFifty-fourth United States Congress, this time defeating his erstwhile opponent and still incumbent, Tom L. Johnson. He was re-elected seven times, serving in the House until 1908.
He was noted for his work in preservingNiagara Falls and for opposing wasteful waterways projects. PresidentTheodore Roosevelt appointed him chairman of the Inland Waterways Commission in 1907 and the National Waterways Commission in 1909. He also sponsored the legislation authorizing the construction of thePanama Canal.
He opposed wasteful spending in general, and despite his background as a corporate lawyer, he resisted the influence of big business. In his first term he co-sponsored theSherman Anti-Trust Act.
After his re-election in 1908, he was elected to the Senate, and resigned his House seat. He served as Chairman of theCommittee on Rivers and Harbors.
He did not seek a second Senate term. Instead, he moved to New York City, and worked in banking for several years.
In 1916, he was considered a possible candidate for president, and received 77½ votes on the first ballot (out of 987) at the Republican national convention.[4]
In 1920, he returned toOhio and was again elected to the House, this time from the 22nd District (borders having changed in 1912). He was re-elected to the House in 1922, 1924, and 1926.
During his later House service, he was appointed by PresidentHarding to the World War Debt Funding Commission in 1922; and was chairman of the United States delegation to the conference for the control of international traffic in arms atGeneva,Switzerland, in 1925.
As president of theAmerican Peace Society, Burton hosted the First World Conference on International Justice in Cleveland in 1928, attended by 13,000, including world leaders.
In 1928, he did not seek re-election to the House. Instead he won a special election to the Senate for the unfinished term ofFrank B. Willis, who had died on March 30. He served in the Senate from December 15, 1928 until his death on October 28, 1929. Black Tuesday (theWall Street crash of 1929) was on the following day, October 29, 1929.
From 1900 to 1912, Burton owned a country residence in Dover (nowWestlake), Ohio, which had been built in 1838 by Thomas and Jane Hurst. The house was recorded in theHistoric American Buildings Survey in 1936,[5] and commemorated by an Ohio Historical Marker in 2002.
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