Theodore Bell
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's2nd district
In office March 4, 1903 – March 4, 1905
Preceded by	Samuel D. Woods
Succeeded by	Duncan E. McKinlay
District Attorney ofNapa County
In office 1895–1903
Personal details
Born	Theodore Arlington Bell (1872-07-25)July 25, 1872 Vallejo, California, U.S.
Died	September 4, 1922(1922-09-04) (aged 50) San Rafael, California, U.S.
Resting place	Odd Fellows Cemetery in St. Helena
Political party	Democratic (before 1921) Republican (1921–1922)
Other political affiliations	Independent (1918)

Theodore Arlington Bell (July 25, 1872 – September 4, 1922) was an American lawyer andpolitician who served one term as aDemocratic Congressman fromCalifornia from 1903 to 1905.^[1]

Born inVallejo, California on July 25, 1872^[1] to Charles E. Bell and Catherine J. Bell (née Mills), he and his family moved toSt. Helena, California in 1876 where he attended primary school at the Crystal Spring school.

At 18, he received a certificate to teach, doing so for a year and a half in northern Napa County, during which time he continued to study law.

After hisadmission to the bar on July 25, 1893 (his 25th birthday), he began his political career asDistrict Attorney ofNapa County, California from 1895 to 1903. During this time, he was married to his wife, Anna Marie Muller, with whom he had one daughter, Maurine.^[2]

With the backing of former San Francisco mayor and future U.S. SenatorJames D. Phelan, Bell was elected to the58th Congress (1903-1905) representingCalifornia's 2nd district.^[3]

While serving, he was a member of the House Irrigation of Arid Lands Committee. In the1904 election, he was defeated by RepublicanDuncan E. McKinlay.

He went on to run forGovernor of California in1906,1910 and1918, losing twice as a Democrat with around 38% and 40% of the vote and once as an Independent with 36%. In his closest election in 1906 he was only 2.6% behind RepublicanJames Gillett. He was the Democratic candidate forU.S. Senate in1905, but lost to RepublicanFrank P. Flint. He was a delegate to the1908 Democratic National Convention, where he gaveWilliam Jennings Bryan's nomination speech, and the1912 Democratic National Convention before later switching parties to become aRepublican in 1921.^[1]

Though Bell himself, representing California wine country, was not aprohibitionist, his mentor Phelan was a strongteetotaler. To accommodate both sides, he lobbied for a tax increase on wines with sugar, which came from out of state. In doing so, he made a move to regulate the consumption of alcohol, which would not harm local vintners but would increase tax revenue and decrease the likelihood of prohibition.^[2]

On September 4, 1922, he was killed in a car crash inMarin County, California.^[1] He is interred at Odd Fellows Cemetery in St. Helena.^[4]

• Media related toTheodore A. Bell at Wikimedia Commons

• United States Congress."Theodore Arlington Bell (id: B000347)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

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