Charles Kramer (April 18, 1879 – January 20, 1943) was an attorney and politician from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he was most notable for his service as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, an office he held for five terms between 1933 and 1943.

Early life

Kramer was born in

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

, and his family moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

during his infancy. He attended Chicago's public and parochial schools, and attended and

De Paul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

and the Illinois College of Law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1904 and began practice in Chicago. He was the director of a dress manufacturing concern. Kramer moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, in 1920 and engaged in the practice of law. He was also active in civic and fraternal organizations, including the Elks, Moose, and Knights of Columbus.

Congress

He was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1943). He chaired the House Committee on Patents (Seventy-sixth and Seventy-seventh Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Los Angeles in 1941 and an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1942 to the Seventy-eighth Congress.

Death

Kramer was ill during his final term in Congress. He died in Los Angeles on January 20, 1943, less than three weeks after his final term expired. Kramer was entombed at Calvary Cemetery.

Family

In 1900, Kramer married Martha Dremke of Chicago in

St. Joseph, Michigan St. Joseph, colloquially known as St. Joe, is a city and the county seat of Berrien County, Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,365. It lies on the shore o ...

. They were the parents of a son and two daughters - Elsie (1901-1998) (Mrs. Fred W. Schaarmann), Arthur C. (1906-1979), and Ethel (1919-1969) (Mrs. Frank E. Mauritz).

References

1879 births 1943 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California DePaul University alumni University of Illinois College of Law alumni Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles) {{California-Representative-stub