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Simeon Fess | |
|---|---|
 Fess in 1902 | |
| Chair of theRepublican National Committee | |
| In office August 7, 1930 – June 17, 1932 | |
| Preceded by | Claudius H. Huston |
| Succeeded by | Everett Sanders |
| Senate Majority Whip | |
| In office March 4, 1929 – January 3, 1933 | |
| Leader | James Eli Watson |
| Preceded by | Wesley Jones |
| Succeeded by | J. Hamilton Lewis |
| United States Senator fromOhio | |
| In office March 4, 1923 – January 3, 1935 | |
| Preceded by | Atlee Pomerene |
| Succeeded by | A. Victor Donahey |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOhio | |
| In office March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1923 | |
| Preceded by | Matthew Denver |
| Succeeded by | Charles Brand |
| Constituency | 6th district (1913-1915) 7th district (1915-1923) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Simeon Davison Fess (1861-12-11)December 11, 1861 Harrod, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | December 23, 1936(1936-12-23) (aged 75) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Education | Ohio Northern University (BA,LLB) |
Simeon Davison Fess (December 11, 1861 – December 23, 1936) was aRepublican politician and educator fromOhio, United States. He served in theUnited States House of Representatives (1915 to 1923) andU.S. Senate (1923 to 1935).
Born on a farm nearHarrod, Ohio, to Henry and Barbara (Herring) Fess, he was educated in country schools and graduated atOhio Northern University (ONU) ofAda in 1889 and married Eva C. Thomas the following year. After graduation, he taught history and law at the university as well was working in the university administration from 1889 to 1896. Fess graduated from thelaw department at ONU in 1894 and served as dean of that department from 1896 to 1900. He then served as vice president of the university from 1900 to 1902. He left forIllinois to become a graduate student and lecturer at theUniversity of Chicago from 1902 to 1907. He then returned to Ohio and served as the president ofAntioch College ofYellow Springs from 1907 to 1917.
In 1912, while still serving at Antioch College, Fess was a delegate to the state constitutional convention as well as being elected as aRepublican to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1923 (6th district 1913–15,7th district 1915–23). He served as chairman of theCommittee on Education during theSixty-sixth andSixty-seventh Congresses, and chairman of theRepublican National Congressional Committee from 1918 to 1922. In 1922, he did not seek re-election, but ran for the U.S. Senate and won, serving from March 4, 1923, to January 3, 1935. He served as chairman of theCommittee on the Library duringSixty-ninth throughSeventy-second Congresses, and asRepublican Whip from 1929 to 1933. He also served as chairman of theRepublican National Committee from 1930 to 1932. After his appointment, theCincinnati Enquirer referred to Fess as a "party wheelhouse and stand patter of the most approved type," and added "It was Senator Fess's proven ability not only to defend, but to eulogize, the acts of Republican administrations, no matter how unpopular they may be, that led to his selection as national chairman."[1] Fess campaigned for the reelection of PresidentHerbert Hoover by claiming Hoover was "the country's greatest peacetime leader,"[2] a hard sell in the fall of 1932. That speech, a month before the presidential election, was delivered to just 150 listeners,[2] a sign of the Republican Party's problems in mid-Depression. He was an unsuccessful candidate for a third term as senator in 1934.
Fess was aMethodist, an editor, an author and a member of theFreemasons andKnights of Pythias. He died inWashington, D.C. at the age of 75 and was interred at Glen Forest Cemetery in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
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