Thomas Bowman | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's9th district | |
| In office March 4, 1891 – March 4, 1893 | |
| Preceded by | Charles M. La Follette |
| Succeeded by | Winfield K. Denton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1848-05-25)May 25, 1848 Wiscasset, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | December 1, 1917(1917-12-01) (aged 69) Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S |
| Political party | Democratic |
Thomas Bowman (May 25, 1848 – December 1, 1917) was a local official, newspaper publisher, and one-term DemocraticU.S. Representative fromIowa's 9th congressional district. Benefiting from an electoral backlash in 1890 against Republicans for their support of theMcKinley Tariff, Bowman's election was a rare nineteenth century Democratic win in traditionally Republican southwestern Iowa.
Born inWiscasset, Maine, Bowman moved toCouncil Bluffs, Iowa, in 1868. A bachelor,[1] he engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1875, 1877 and 1879 he was elected treasurer ofPottawattamie County. He served as mayor of Council Bluffs in 1882.
In 1883, he purchased a controlling ownership of theCouncil Bluffs Globe newspaper. Under his ownership, theGlobe identified itself as a Democratic newspaper. While publishing and editing theGlobe, he was appointed postmaster of Council Bluffs in 1885, serving until his resignation in 1889.
In 1890 two Democrats other than Bowman ran for their party's nomination for the U.S. House seat then held by RepublicanJoseph Rea Reed.[2] However, at the 9th district's convention, Bowman was drafted and nominated instead.[3] After defeating Reed in the general election as part the Democratic Party's first nationwide congressional landslide against the Republican Party (and first majority in Iowa's House delegation), Bowman served in theFifty-second Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1892, explaining that "my private business demands my undivided attention and I can only continue in public office at a great personal sacrifice."[4] In all, he served in Congress from March 4, 1891 to March 3, 1893.
After returning to Council Bluffs and theGlobe, he was again the postmaster of Council Bluffs from 1904 to 1908. He also engaged in railroad contracting.
Bowman died in Council Bluffs, on December 1, 1917. He was interred in Pine Grove Cemetery inDresden Mills, Maine.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 9th congressional district 1891–1893 | Succeeded by |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
