| Gilbert Monell Hitchcock | |
|---|---|
| United States Senator from Nebraska |
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| In office March 4, 1911 – March 4, 1923 |
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| Preceded by | Elmer Burkett |
| Succeeded by | Robert B. Howell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 18, 1859 Omaha, Nebraska |
| Died | February 3, 1934 (aged 74) Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Democratic |
Gilbert Monell Hitchcock (September 18, 1859 – February 3, 1934) was a Representative and a Senator from Nebraska, and the founder of the Omaha World-Herald.
Hitchcock was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of U.S. Senator Phineas Warren Hitchcock of Nebraska. He attended the public schools of Omaha and the gymnasium at Baden-Baden, Germany. He graduated in 1881 from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity;[1] he was then admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Omaha in 1882. He continued the practice of law until 1885, when he established and edited the Omaha Evening World; four years later, he purchased the Nebraska Morning Herald and consolidated the two into the morning and evening editions of the Omaha World-Herald.
In 1883 he married Jessie Crounse, the daughter of Nebraska Supreme Court justice and future governor Lorenzo Crounse.
His family had traditionally been Republicans, but Gilbert broke tradition and became a Democrat in response to agricultural issues and the leadership of fellow Nebraskan William Jennings Bryan.[2]
Hitchcock was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1898; four years later, he was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1903-March 4, 1905). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1904 to the Fifty-ninth Congress. Hitchcock was elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth and Sixty-first Congresses (March 4, 1907-March 4, 1911).
He did not seek renomination in 1910, having become a candidate for the United States Senate. Hitchcock was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate January 18, 1911; he was reelected in 1916 and served from March 4, 1911, to March 4, 1923. During his two terms, he was the chairman of the Committee on the Philippines (Sixty-third through Sixty-fifth Congresses), the Committee on Foreign Relations (a portion of the Sixty-fifth Congress), and the Committee on Forest Reservations and Game Protection (Sixty-sixth Congress). As Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he was a leading advocate of the League of Nations [2] and the Treaty of Versailles.[3]
Hitchcock was unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 and for election in 1930. After the end of his Senate service, he resumed newspaper work in Omaha. He retired from active business in 1933 and moved to Washington, D.C., where he died on February 3, 1934. He was interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha. Gilbert M. Hitchcock Elementary School and Hitchcock Park in Omaha was named in his honor.[4]
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Henry Mercer (R) |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district 1903 – 1905 |
Succeeded by John L. Kennedy (R) |
| Preceded by John L. Kennedy (R) |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district 1907 – 1911 |
Succeeded by Charles O. Lobeck (D) |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by Elmer J. Burkett (R) |
United States Senator from Nebraska (Class 1) 1911–1923 |
Succeeded by Robert B. Howell (R) |
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