Atlee Pomerene (December 6, 1863 – November 12, 1937) was an American Democratic Party politician and lawyer from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He served as

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes Governor of Ohio, governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed via impeachment conviction. Before 1852, the president of the Oh ...

for a few months in 1911 and then represented Ohio in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

from 1911 until 1923.

Early life

Atlee Pomerene was born on December 6, 1863, in Berlin, Holmes County, Ohio, to Elizabeth and Peter P. Pomerene. He graduated with high honors from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1884. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1886 and was admitted to the bar in Ohio.

Career

In 1886, he began practicing law with Charles R. Miller in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

. He then entered a partnership with Judge Robert S. Shields in the firm Shields and Pomerene. He then organized the firm Pomerene, Ambler and Pomerene with Ralph Ambler and his brother Celsus Pomerene. From 1887 to 1901, he served as the city solicitor of Canton. He then worked as prosecutor of Stark County from 1897 to 1900. He prosecuted the homicide case against Anna George for the murder of George Saxton, brother of

Ida Saxton McKinley Ida McKinley (née Saxton; June 8, 1847 – May 26, 1907) was the first lady of the United States from 1897 until 1901, as the wife of President William McKinley. McKinley also served as the First Lady of Ohio from 1892 to 1896 while her husband w ...

. In 1906, he was appointed a member of the honorary tax commission of Ohio by Governor Andrew L. Harris. In 1910, he was chairman of the state Democratic convention. After serving in a variety of city, county, and state positions as solicitor and prosecutor, Pomerene was elected the 31st

lieutenant governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes Governor of Ohio, governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed via impeachment conviction. Before 1852, the president of the Oh ...

in 1910. He briefly served in the post until January 19, 1911, when he was elected by the State Legislature to the U.S. Senate, succeeding

Charles W. F. Dick Charles William Frederick Dick (November 3, 1858 – March 13, 1945) was a United States Republican Party, Republican politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate, U.S. Senate. Early l ...

. In 1913, he was a member of the Senate Banking Currency Commission and assisted in developing the legislation to create the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

. Pomerene was re-elected in 1916, defeating Myron T. Herrick. He narrowly lost a bid for a third term six years later to Simeon D. Fess. He ran again the following election, but lost to Frank B. Willis. In 1923, he joined the law firm Squire, Sanders and Dempsey of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. In March 1923, President Warren Harding named him to the 5th Pan-American Conference held in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. He was a Democrat. Pomerene was appointed by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

alongside Owen Roberts to serve as a special prosecutor to deal with the

Teapot Dome The Teapot Dome scandal was a political corruption scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Warren G. Harding. It centered on Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall, who had leased United States Navy, Navy petroleum re ...

scandal. He ran unsuccessfully for the other U.S. Senate seat from Ohio in 1926 and for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. presidency in 1928. On August 1, 1932, President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

appointed Pomerene to succeed Charles G. Dawes as head of the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government that served as a lender of last resort to US banks and businesses. Established in ...

after Dawes' sudden resignation on June 7. He served in that role until his retirement on March 4, 1933. Pomerene then continued practicing law in

Personal life

Pomerene married Mary H. Bockius, daughter of L. V. Bockius, of Canton on June 29, 1892. Pomerene died following pneumonia and a stroke in Cleveland on November 12, 1937, and was buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Canton.

Awards and legacy

Pomerene received an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

, Wooster University and Mount Union College. He also received an honorary degree from

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomerene, Atlee 1863 births 1937 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Burials at West Lawn Cemetery Democratic Party United States senators from Ohio Lieutenant governors of Ohio Ohio lawyers People from Berlin, Holmes County, Ohio People from Canton, Ohio Princeton University alumni Reconstruction Finance Corporation Special prosecutors University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni 20th-century United States senators