Martin Fernard Smith (May 28, 1891 – October 25, 1954) was a

U.S. Representative 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 c ...

from

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Born in

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

, Smith attended the public schools, Lewis Institute,

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

, and

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

. He moved to

Hoquiam, Washington Hoquiam ( ) is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. It borders the city of Aberdeen at Myrtle Street, with Hoquiam to the west. The two cities share a common economic history in lumbering and exporting, but Hoquiam has mainta ...

, in 1911 and completed law studies commenced in Chicago. 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 1912 and commenced practice in Hoquiam, Washington. He served as municipal judge of Hoquiam 1914–1917. During the First World War served as a private in the Coast Artillery Corps from October 9, 1918, to December 15, 1918. He served as member of the city council 1926–1928. He served as mayor of Hoquiam 1928–1930. Smith was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Seventy-third and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1943). He served as chairman of the Committee on Pensions ( Seventy-sixth and Seventy-seventh Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1942 to the Seventy-eighth Congress. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1936. He was appointed a member of the Board of Immigration Appeals,

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

, on April 1, 1943, and served until his resignation on April 29, 1944. He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1944 for the Democratic nomination for

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

. He was appointed special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States on September 26, 1944, and served until his death in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, October 25, 1954. He was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Martin Fernard 1891 births 1954 deaths United States Army soldiers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) 20th-century American politicians