Library of Congress
CURTIS, Charles, a
Representative and a Senator from Kansas and a Vice President of the United
States; born in Topeka, Kans., January 25, 1860; attended the common schools;
studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1881 and commenced practice in Topeka;
prosecuting attorney of Shawnee County 1885-1889; elected as a Republican to the
Fifty-third and to the six succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1893,
until January 28, 1907, when he resigned, having been elected Senator; chairman,
Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Interior (Fifty-fourth
through Fifty-seventh Congresses); had been reelected to the Sixtieth Congress,
but on January 23, 1907, was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican
to fill the vacancy in the term ending March 3, 1907, caused by the resignation
of Joseph R. Burton, and on the same day was reelected for the term commencing
March 4, 1907, and served from January 29, 1907, to March 3, 1913; unsuccessful
candidate for reelection in 1912; served as President pro tempore of the Senate
during the Sixty-second Congress; chairman, Committee on Indian Depredations
(Fifty-ninth through Sixty-first Congresses), Committee on Coast Defenses
(Sixty-second Congress), Republican Conference (Sixty-eighth through Seventieth
Congresses); again elected to the United States Senate for the term commencing
March 4, 1915; reelected in 1920 and 1926 and served from March 4, 1915, until
his resignation on March 3, 1929, having been elected Vice President of the
United States; Republican whip 1915-1924; majority leader 1925-1929; elected
Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket headed by Herbert
Hoover in 1928, was inaugurated on March 4, 1929, and served until March 3,
1933; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1932 for Vice President; resumed
the practice of law in Washington, D.C., where he died on February 8, 1936;
interment in Topeka Cemetery, Topeka, Kans. - - Biographical
Data courtesy of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
