Atlee Pomerene
United States Senator
from Ohio
In office
March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1923
Preceded byCharles W. F. Dick
Succeeded bySimeon D. Fess
31st Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
In office
January 19, 1911 – March 3, 1911
GovernorJudson Harmon
Preceded byFrancis W. Treadway
Succeeded byHugh L. Nichols
Personal details
Born(1863-12-06)December 6, 1863
Berlin, Ohio, U.S.
DiedNovember 12, 1937(1937-11-12) (aged 73)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Resting placeWest Lawn Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mary H. Bockius
​
(m. 1892)​
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
University of Cincinnati College of Law (LLB)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • lawyer

Atlee Pomerene (December 6, 1863 – November 12, 1937) was an American Democratic Party politician and lawyer from Ohio. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio for a few months in 1911 and then represented Ohio in the United States Senate from 1911 until 1923.

Early life

Atlee Pomerene was born on December 6, 1863, in Berlin, Holmes County, Ohio, to Elizabeth and Peter P. Pomerene. He graduated with high honors from Princeton University in 1884. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1886 and was admitted to the bar in Ohio.[1][2]

Career

He began practicing law with Charles R. Miller in Canton, Ohio, in 1886. He then entered a partnership with judge Robert S. Shields in the firm Shields and Pomerene. He then organized the firm Pomerene, Ambler and Pomerene with Ralph Ambler and his brother Celsus Pomerene.[1][2] From 1887 to 1901, he served as the city solicitor of Canton. He then worked as prosecutor of Stark County from 1897 to 1900. He prosecuted the homicide case against Anna George for the murder of George Saxton, brother of Ida Saxton McKinley.[2] In 1906, he was appointed a member of the honorary tax commission of Ohio by Governor Andrew L. Harris.[2] In 1910, he was chairman of the state democratic convention.[3]

After serving in a variety of city, county, and state positions as solicitor and prosecutor, Pomerene was elected the 31st lieutenant governor of Ohio in 1910. He briefly served in the post until January 19, 1911, when he was elected by the State Legislature to the U.S. Senate, succeeding Charles W. F. Dick. In 1913, he was a member of the senate banking currency commission and assisted in developing the legislation to create the Federal Reserve.[1][3] Pomerene was re-elected in 1916, defeating Myron T. Herrick. He narrowly lost a bid for a third term six years later to Simeon D. Fess. He ran again the following election, but lost to Frank B. Willis.[3] In 1923, he joined the law firm Squire, Sanders and Dempsey of Cleveland.[3] In March 1923, President Warren Harding named him to the 5th Pan-American Conference held in Santiago, Chile.[3] He was a Democrat.[3]

Pomerene was appointed by President Calvin Coolidge alongside Owen Roberts to serve as a special prosecutor to deal with the Teapot Dome scandal. He ran unsuccessfully for the other U.S. Senate seat from Ohio in 1926 and for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. presidency in 1928. On August 1, 1932, President Herbert Hoover appointed Pomerene to succeed Charles G. Dawes as head of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation after Dawes' sudden resignation on June 7.[1][3] He served in that role until his retirement on March 4, 1933.[2]

Pomerene then continued practicing law in Cleveland.[1]

Personal life

Mary Pomerene in 1915

Pomerene married Mary H. Bockius, daughter of L. V. Bockius, of Canton on June 29, 1892.[3]

Pomerene died following pneumonia and a stroke in Cleveland on November 12, 1937, and was buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Canton.[1][2]

Awards and legacy

Pomerene received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Miami University, Wooster University and Mount Union College. He also received an honorary degree from Kenyon College.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pomerene, Atlee". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Atlee Pomerene Dies; Former Ohio Senator, Hoover RFC Chairman". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1937-11-13. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Atlee Pomerene Dies; Former Ohio Senator, Hoover RFC Chairman". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1937-11-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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