Charles W. F. Dick
United States Senator
from Ohio
In office
March 23, 1904 – March 3, 1911
Preceded byMarcus A. Hanna
Succeeded byAtlee Pomerene
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio's 19th district
In office
November 8, 1898 – March 23, 1904
Preceded byStephen A. Northway
Succeeded byW. Aubrey Thomas
Personal details
Born(1858-11-03)November 3, 1858
Akron, Ohio
DiedMarch 13, 1945(1945-03-13) (aged 86)
Akron, Ohio
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCarrie M. Peterson
Children5

Charles William Frederick Dick (November 3, 1858 – March 13, 1945) was a Republican politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

Early life

Born in Akron, Ohio, his parents were Gottlieb Dick (a Scots/German immigrant), and Magdalena or "Lena" (Von Handel) Dick, who immigrated to the United States from Heidelberg, Germany.[1] On June 30, 1881, Dick married Carrie May Peterson, the daughter of Dr. James Holman Peterson and Caroline Van Evera. They had five children.[1][2] James, Lucius, Carl, Grace (Mrs. Edgar Williams) and Dorothy (Mrs. William Robinson). Dick was a Scottish Rite Mason, Odd Fellow, and Knight of Pythias.[2]

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Career

Early career

"Charley" Dick was educated in Akron, and worked at several stores and banks. In 1886, he was the successful Republican nominee for Summit County auditor, and he was re-elected in 1888.[1] He also read law, and was admitted to the bar in 1894.[1] Dick was a delegate to the 1892, 1896 and 1900 Republican National Conventions.[1] He was elected Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party in 1887 and 1891,[3] and served as the Secretary of the Republican National Committee from 1896 to 1900.[4]

Military career

In November 1885 Dick joined the Ohio Army National Guard as a private in Company B, 8th Ohio Infantry Regiment, and he was commissioned as a first lieutenant a few days later.[5] His regiment volunteered for service in the Spanish–American War, and Dick served in Cuba as a major and lieutenant colonel. He continued his military service after the war, and attained the rank of major general as head of the Ohio National Guard.[6] From 1902 to 1909 he was president of the National Guard Association of the United States.[7]

Congressional career

He was elected to the United States House of Representatives by a special election in 1898 to fill a vacancy created by the death of Stephen A. Northway, serving the 19th district.[8]

Dick was Chairman of the Militia Committee,[9] and sponsored the Militia Act of 1903 (the Dick Act).[10] This act codified the circumstances under which the National Guard in each state could be federalized, provided federal resources for equipping and training the National Guard, and required National Guard units to organize and meet the same readiness requirements as the regular Army.

Dick served until he resigned in 1904, having been elected to the Senate to fill the vacancy created by the death of Marcus A. Hanna.[11]

In the Senate he served as chairman of the Mining Committee[12] and the Committee on Indian Depredations.[13] He also was the head of a Congressional Committee which investigated hazing at the United States Military Academy.[14] He served until 1911, when he lost a bid for a second term.[15]

While in Congress, he became one of the largest stockholders in the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and served as a vice president and member of the board of directors.[16]

Later career

Dick practiced law after leaving the Senate, and pursued a successful business career, including ownership of the Franklin Square Hotel in Washington, D.C.,[17] and the Hotel Chatham in New York City.[18]

He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in 1918, losing to Martin L. Davey.[19][20] In 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, losing to Simeon D. Fess.[21]

Retirement, death and burial

From 1941 until his death in Akron on March 13, 1945, Dick was the oldest living former US Senator. He was buried in Akron's Glendale Cemetery.

Legacy

Since 1988 the National Guard Association of the United States presents the annual Charles Dick Medal of Merit to recognize support for the National Guard by state and federal legislators.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Upton, Harriet Taylor (1910). Cutler, Harry Gardner (ed.). History of the Western Reserve. Vol. 3. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 1784–1787.
  2. 1 2 Mercer, James K.; Rife, Edward K. (1903). Representative men of Ohio, 1900–1903. Columbus: James K. Mercer. pp. 50–53.
  3. ↑ Ohio Historical Society, The Ohio Historical Quarterly, 1958, page 50
  4. ↑ Curtis V. Hard, Banners in the Air: The Eighth Ohio Volunteers and the Spanish–American War, 1988, page 128
  5. ↑ Ohio General Assembly, Executive Documents, Part 2, 1887, page 506
  6. ↑ Ohio General Assembly, Manual of Legislative Practice in the General Assembly of Ohio, 1912, page 199
  7. ↑ Michael D. Doubler, The National Guard, 2007, page 54
  8. ↑ William A. Taylor, Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901, 1900, page 309
  9. ↑ William M. Donnelly, Center for Military History Online, The Root Reforms and the National Guard, 2001
  10. ↑ Clinton Mirror, Congress and its Work, March 7, 1903
  11. ↑ Lara M. Brown, Jockeying for the American Presidency, 2010, page 173
  12. ↑ Mining and Scientific Press magazine, Special Correspondence: Washington, D.C., January 1910, page 79
  13. ↑ Ohio History Central, Charles W. Dick, accessed June 20, 2013
  14. ↑ James Kazerta Mercer, Edward K. Rife, Representative Men of Ohio, 1900–1903, 1903, page 51
  15. ↑ Ohio State Museum, Museum Echoes, Volume 24, 1955, page 72
  16. ↑ Motor Age magazine, manufacturing Miscellany, 1904, page 19
  17. ↑ Robert Desty, James Wells Goodwin, Peyton Boyle, editors, The Federal Reporter, Volume 279, 1922, page 994
  18. ↑ New York Times, Mrs. Dick's Stock Tied Up, November 11, 1923
  19. ↑ Charles Dick, Hudson Independent, Letter, Experience as a Congressional Asset, October 24, 1918
  20. ↑ Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, Man Who Beat Dick Seated in Congress, December 12, 1918
  21. ↑ New York Times, Test Vote of Drys is Close in Ohio, August 10, 1922
  22. ↑ National Guard Association of the United States, Charles Dick Medal of Merit Archived June 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, 2012
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