Francis G. Newlands

Francis G. Newlands

Francis Griffith Newlands (born August 28, 1846 in Natchez , Mississippi , † December 24, 1917 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician who represented the state of Nevada in both chambers of Congress .

Life

Francis Newlands was born to James Birney Newlands and his wife Jessie Barland; his ancestors immigrated to the United States from Scotland . He first grew up in Mississippi, but later came to Quincy ( Illinois ) with his parents via Missouri . After the early death of his father, he moved with his mother to Washington DC, where he first attended Yale College and received his law degree from Columbian College Law School , now George Washington University . In 1869 Newlands was admitted to the bar; a year later, in 1870, he moved to San Francisco ( California ), where he lived about 18 years.

It was here that Newlands met William Sharon , one of the discoverers of large silver deposits in Virginia City (Nevada). In November 1874, Newlands married Sharon's daughter Clara Adelaide. The two had their only child, their daughter Frances, in November 1880. Newland's grandson is the American music producer Chris Strachwitz . In 1888 Newlands followed his father-in-law to Nevada, where he also practiced as a lawyer.

In 1892 Newlands, who was a member of the Democratic Party , ran successfully for a seat in the United States House of Representatives . He took office on March 4, 1893 and was able to keep it through four re-elections until March 3, 1903. In his so-called Newlands Resolution , which he wrote in 1898, he proposed the annexation of Hawaii and the establishment of the Hawaiian Territory .

In 1902 he ran for a seat in the United States Senate ; on March 4, 1903 he moved into the second chamber of parliament. Newlands thus became a senator like his father-in-law William Sharon, who had been elected to Congress from 1875 to 1881. In 1913, Newlands was elected chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation . Also of note is the chairmanship of the so-called Titanic Commission , which met in New York City in the spring of 1912 and headed the Newlands with Senators William Alden Smith ( Michigan ) and Isidor Rayner ( Maryland ). In that investigation commission, the reasons as well as the course of the sinking of the RMS Titanic were analyzed.

Francis G. Newlands died during his third term as a US Senator at the age of 71.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ State Library and Archives: Francis G. Newlands' Birth: A Grave Solution  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   . Retrieved August 18, 2010.

Web links

Commons : Francis G. Newlands  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Francis G. Newlands in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Francis G. Newlands in the database of Find a Grave (English)