Elbert D. Thomas | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Thomas in 1940 | |
| United States Senator fromUtah | |
| In office March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1951 | |
| Preceded by | Reed Smoot |
| Succeeded by | Wallace F. Bennett |
| 4thHigh Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands | |
| In office January 6, 1951 – February 11, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Arthur W. Radford |
| Succeeded by | Frank E. Midkiff |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elbert Duncan Thomas (1883-06-17)June 17, 1883 Salt Lake City,Utah Territory, U.S. |
| Died | February 11, 1953(1953-02-11) (aged 69) Honolulu,Hawaii Territory, U.S. |
| Resting place | Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37.92″N111°51′28.8″W / 40.7772000°N 111.858000°W /40.7772000; -111.858000 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Utah University of California, Berkeley |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army (Reserves)Utah National Guard |
Elbert Duncan Thomas (June 17, 1883 – February 11, 1953) was aDemocratic Partypolitician fromUtah. He representedUtah in theUnited States Senate from 1933 until 1951. He served as the Chair of the Senate Education Committee, and is the last Democrat to serve as Utah's Class 3 Senator.
Thomas was born inSalt Lake City,Utah Territory, on June 17, 1883, to Caroline Stockdale and Richard Kendall Thomas. He was the fifth of 12 children. His parents loved the arts, especially thetheater. They built the first Children's Playhouse west of theMississippi River in a barn on their property, which they named the Barnacle. Elbert was involved in many plays held for the public in the Barnacle. His father was involved in local government and held conventions and political rallies at the Barnacle. His family later moved to a home across from what is now theConference Center ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).This home is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. While an undergraduate student at the University of Utah, Thomas helped found the Amici Fidissimi Society in 1902.[1] The AF Society was a men's fraternal organization which later affiliated withPhi Delta Theta fraternity, an international college fraternity, in 1914, becoming the Utah Alpha chapter of the Fraternity. Elbert was the first initiate into Phi Delta Theta at the University of Utah.[citation needed]
Thomas marriedEdna Harker on June 25, 1907, in theSalt Lake Temple and they had three daughters together. Edna died in 1942, and Elbert later married Ethel Evans in 1946 in the Salt Lake Temple.[citation needed]
Thomas served a mission toJapan for the LDS Church with his first wife, from 1907 to 1912. He was one of the firstLDS missionaries sent to Japan, and his first daughter, Chiyo, was born there. Elbert developed a deep love for the Japanese people and learned to speak Japanese fluently. He was the author ofSukui No Michi, the Japanese translation of the Mormon tractWay of Salvation. For part of his five-year mission, Thomas was thepresident of the JapaneseMission. On his return from Japan, he became a Professor of Political Science and History at theUniversity of Utah (where he had received his B.A. in 1906). He taught Latin, Greek and Japanese culture, as well as being a Political Science and History professor and eventually an Administrator on the Board of Regents at theUniversity of Utah for many years.[citation needed]
Thomas was first elected to the Senate as aDemocrat in 1932, defeatingRepublicanReed Smoot. He served on theCommittee on Education and Labor (of which he was the Chairman), theCommittee on Military Affairs, the Mines and Mining Committee, and the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare.[citation needed]
In April 1943 a confidential analysis of theSenate Foreign Relations Committee by British scholarIsaiah Berlin for the BritishForeign Office characterized Thomas as:
a Mormon ex-missionary, whose work was mostly done in the Far East. He speaks Japanese fluently, and his attitudes towards post-war problems is coloured principally by his Far Eastern views which are summed up in his statement that "the days of the white man's domination are over and the British Empire is almost certain to be dissolved in that part of the world." He is an out and out internationalist and interventionist, who has voted with the Administration on all foreign measures. He is essentially a free trader but, nevertheless, occasionally votes with the Farm Bloc which is powerful in the agricultural State which he represents. He is an ardent champion of theJewish army scheme.[2]
Thomas was among twelve nominated at the1944 Democratic National Convention to serve asFranklin D. Roosevelt's running mate in thepresidential election that year.[3] He served three terms before being defeated for reelection byWallace F. Bennett in 1950. In 1951, he was appointed High Commissioner over theTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Elbert died inHonolulu,Hawaii Territory, on February 11, 1953. He was buried in the Thomas family plot in theSalt Lake City Cemetery.
TheGibbs-Thomas House, in Salt Lake City, which was Thomas's sole residence in Utah, was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1984 in large part to recognize his association.[4]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ashby Snow | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator from Utah (Class 3) 1932,1938,1944,1950 | Succeeded by Alonzo F. Hopkin |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Utah 1933–1951 Served alongside:William H. King,Abe Murdock,Arthur V. Watkins | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
Chairs of theUnited States Senate Committee on Armed Services | ||
|---|---|---|
| Military Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | | |
| Naval Affairs Committee (1816–1947) | ||
| Armed Services Committee (1947–present) | ||
| Education/Education and Labor (1869–1947) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Labor and Public Welfare (1947–1977) | ||
| Labor and Human Resources (1977–1999) | ||
| Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (1999–present) | ||
