William Alden Smith | |
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| United States Senator fromMichigan | |
| In office February 9, 1907 – March 3, 1919 | |
| Preceded by | Russell A. Alger |
| Succeeded by | Truman H. Newberry |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's5th district | |
| In office March 4, 1895 – February 9, 1907 | |
| Preceded by | George F. Richardson |
| Succeeded by | Gerrit J. Diekema |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1859-05-12)May 12, 1859 Dowagiac, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | October 11, 1932(1932-10-11) (aged 73) Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Nancy Alice Osterhout |
| Children | William Alden Smith, Jr. |
| Signature |  |
William Alden Smith (May 12, 1859 – October 11, 1932) was aU.S. Representative andU.S. Senator from thestate ofMichigan. After the 1912 sinking of theTitanic, Smith chaired theSenate hearings into the disaster. His report led to major reforms inmaritime safety.
Smith was born inDowagiac, Michigan to George Richardson and Leah Margaret (Allen) Smith and attended the common schools. He moved with his parents toGrand Rapids in 1872, where he attended school, sold popcorn, and was a newsboy and messenger boy. He was appointed a page in theMichigan House of Representatives in 1875 (or 1879) atLansing, Michigan. He studied law in the office of Burch & Montgomery (Marsden C. Burch was a one-timeU.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan) and was admitted to thebar in 1882. Smith practiced law alone for some time, but later became associated with Fredrick W. Stevens. This firm afterwards became Smiley, Smith & Stevens. He was general counsel of theChicago and West Michigan Railway and theDetroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad. While in this practice, Smith became an expert on railroad law and finance. He was assistant secretary of theMichigan Senate in 1883 and the State Game Warden from 1887 to 1891, reportedly the first salaried state game warden in the nation. He was a member of the Republican State Central Committee from 1888 to 1892.
Smith was elected as aRepublican from theMichigan's 5th congressional district to the54th United States Congress and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1895, until his resignation, effective February 9, 1907, having been elected to the U.S. Senate.[1] While in theHouse of Representatives, Smith was chairman of theCommittee on Expenditures in the State Department in the56th Congress, theCommittee on Pacific Railroads in the57th and58th Congresses. While Chairman of the Committee on Pacific Railroads, Smith was a leading advocate for universal safety standards on railroads, attracting the ire of many of the country's railroad executives.
Smith was elected as a Republican to theUnited States Senate on January 15, 1907, for the term beginning March 4, 1907. He was subsequently elected on February 6, 1907, to fill the vacancy in the term ending March 3, 1907, caused by the death ofRussell A. Alger. He was reelected in 1913 and served from February 9, 1907, to March 3, 1919. He declined to run for renomination in 1918. Smith was chairman of theCommittee on Canadian Relations in the61st Congress, theCommittee on Territories in the62nd Congress, and theSelect Committee to Examine Branches of the Civil Service in the63rd through65th Congresses.
After the luxury linerRMSTitanic sank in theNorth Atlantic on April 15, 1912, with more than 1,500 lives lost, Smith chaired Senate hearings that began at theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel inNew York City the day after the survivors landed. Senators and spectators heard dramatic testimony from the surviving passengers and crew. Smith's subcommittee issued a report on May 28 that led to significant reforms in international maritime safety. Smith achieved some notoriety for being more colorful than knowledgeable, even being called "Watertight Smith" by the British press for asking whether watertight compartments, actually meant to keep the ship afloat, were meant to shelter passengers. In addition to this, he continually interrupted witnesses, and asked questions they had already answered or about events they were not present for. In one of his more redundant questions, Smith asked the ship's fifth officerHarold Lowe what an iceberg was made of, which Lowe responded with, "Ice, I suppose sir?".[2]
In "The Titanic Chronicles", a 1999 television documentary about the senate hearings, he was voiced byDavid Garrison. In "Unsinkable" the 2024 movie Sen. William Alden Smith was portrayed byCotter Smith.
Smith constructed theGrand Rapids, Kalkaska and Southeastern Railroad in Michigan in 1897 and became owner of the Lowell and Hastings Railroad in 1900. In June 1901, he was honored with the degree of Master of Arts byDartmouth College.[1] He was owner and publisher of theGrand Rapids Herald in 1906 and chairman of the board of directors of the Goodrich Company, which owned the Graham and Morton Steamship Line, the largest operator of steamboats fromChicago to variousLake Michigan ports.
In 1909 he defended Federal employee and civil rights activistRobert Pelham Jr. who was arrested when gathering information from witnesses after a black woman was beaten by a white police officer who was arresting her. Pelham was acquitted in the case.[3]
Smith was married on October 21, 1886, to Nancy Alice ("Nana") Osterhout (October 21, 1859 – February 15, 1936) of Grand Rapids. They had one son, William Alden Smith, Jr. who died on April 19, 1920, at the age of 27. The second Disabled American Veterans chapter ever organized was inKentwood, Michigan, and is named for him. The younger Smith was married to Marie McRae, daughter of Milton A. McRae of Detroit. This couple had a son, William Alden, III, who died on December 16, 1968, in San Diego, California at the age of 52. They are all buried in the family mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Michigan.[4]
Smith died in Grand Rapids on October 11, 1932 and is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery there.
The community ofAlden, Michigan is named for him. A bronze statue of Smith was placed in Grand Rapids in 2017, as part of the city's Community Legends Project, which seeks to build statues honoring prominent Grand Rapids figures.[5]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 5th congressional district 1895–1907 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Michigan 1907–1919 Served alongside:Julius C. Burrows,Charles E. Townsend | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 2 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
