Charles Allen Culberson

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Charles Allen Culberson
Charles Allen Culberson

In office
1895 – 1899
Lieutenant George Taylor Jester
Preceded by Jim Hogg
Succeeded by Joseph D. Sayers

Born June 10, 1855
Dadeville, Alabama
Died March 19, 1925
Washington, D.C.
Political party Democratic

Charles Allen Culberson (June 10, 1855March 19, 1925) was a Democratic U.S. political figure who served as governor of Texas between 1895 and 1899 and a United States Senator from Texas from 1899 until 1923.

Culberson was born to Eugenia (Kimball) and David Browning Culberson in Dadeville, Alabama, but in 1856 his family moved to Texas, settling first in Gilmer and later in Jefferson. He attended Virginia Military Institute, graduating in 1874, and subsequently studying law at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1876 and 1877. In 1877 he was admitted to the bar in Daingerfield, Texas, and commenced practice in Jefferson. He moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1887.

Culberson's political career began with his election as Attorney General of Texas in 1890, a position he held until 1894, when he launched his campaign for Governor. After one term as Governor, he was elected to the Senate as a Democrat on January 25, 1899. Early during his tenure, Culberson served on the Lodge Committee investigating war crimes in the Philippine-American War. Later, Culberson chaired several Senate committees, including the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1913 to 1919.

Culberson was reelected in 1905, 1911, and again by popular vote in 1916, when health problems and alcoholism prevented him from campaigning in Texas but didn't prevent his reelection. However, his health and opposition to the Ku Klux Klan finally led to the loss of his seat in the Senate in 1922 [1]. He served as Senator from March 4, 1899 to March 3, 1923.

Culberson lived in retirement until his death from pneumonia in Washington, D.C. on March 19, 1925. He is buried in East Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas.

Charles Culberson was a cousin of current Texas Representative John Abney Culberson.


Preceded by
James Stephen Hogg
Governor of Texas
1895 – 1899
Succeeded by
Joseph D. Sayers
Preceded by
Roger Q. Mills
United States Senator (Class 1) from Texas
1899 – 1923
Served alongside: Horace Chilton, Joseph W. Bailey,
Rienzi M. Johnston, Morris Sheppard
Succeeded by
Earle B. Mayfield
Preceded by
Clarence D. Clark
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee
1912 – 1919
Succeeded by
Knute Nelson

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