Charles Wayland Brooks (March 8, 1897 – January 14, 1957) was a Republican

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

from 1940 to 1949.

Early life

Born in West Bureau, Illinois, Brooks served in the

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

from 1917 to 1919. While in combat he was wounded several times.

Political career

Brooks ran for

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

but was defeated by incumbent

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 ...

Henry Horner Henry Horner (November 30, 1878 – October 6, 1940) was an American politician. Horner served as the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from January 1933 until his death in October 1940. Horner was noted as the first Jewish governor of Illinois ...

. He was elected by a very narrow margin in 1940 to fill the senate vacancy caused by the death of

J. Hamilton Lewis James Hamilton Lewis (May 18, 1863 – April 9, 1939) was an American attorney and politician. Sometimes referred to as J. Ham Lewis or Ham Lewis, he represented Washington in the United States House of Representatives, and Illinois in the Unite ...

. Brooks was reelected in 1942, but was defeated in 1948 by

Paul Douglas.

Visit to Buchenwald Concentration Camp

On 11 April 1945,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

forces liberated the

Buchenwald Concentration Camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

which was established in 1937 and caused the death of at least 56,545 people. General Eisenhower left rotting corpses unburied so a visiting group of US legislators could truly understand the horror of the atrocities. This group was visiting Buchenwald to inspect the camp and learn firsthand about the enormity of the Nazi Final Solution and treatment of other prisoners. The legislators who visited included

Alben W. Barkley Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress and as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under Presiden ...

, Ed Izac,

John M. Vorys John Martin Vorys (June 16, 1896 – August 25, 1968) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio. Early life Born in Lancaster, Ohio, Vorys attended the public schools in Lancaster and Columbus, Ohio. During the First World War served overseas as a pilo ...

Dewey Short Dewey Jackson Short (April 7, 1898 – November 19, 1979) was an American politician from Missouri. He was US Representative for 12 terms (1929-1931, 1935-1957). A member of the Republican Party, he was a staunch opponent of President Franklin ...

, C. Wayland Brooks, and

Kenneth S. Wherry Kenneth Spicer Wherry (February 28, 1892November 29, 1951) was an American businessman, attorney, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska from 1943 until his death in 1951; he was the minorit ...

along with General Omar N. Bradley and journalists Joseph Pulitzer,

Norman Chandler Norman Chandler (September 14, 1899 – October 20, 1973) was the publisher of the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1945 to 1960. Personal Norman Chandler was born in Los Angeles on September 14, 1899, one of eight children of Harry Chandler and Mar ...

, William I. Nichols and

Julius Ochs Adler Julius Ochs Adler (December 3, 1892 – October 3, 1955) was an American publisher, journalist, and highly decorated United States Army officer with the rank of major general. He distinguished himself during World War I as Major and battalion com ...

Death

Brooks returned to

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

and died at age 59 at Passavant Hospital in early 1957, after a massive heart attack.

Family

Brooks married Gertrude Ackerly in August 1920 and they had a son, Russell (b. 1924). She divorced him in April 1943 in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, citing cruelty. He married Mary Elizabeth Thomas Peavey, a widow and daughter of U.S. Senate colleague

John W. Thomas John William Thomas (January 4, 1874 – November 10, 1945) was an American politician, a United States Senator from Idaho. A Republican, he served for a total of over ten years in two different seats, both times appointed after his predecessor ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. They wed in May 1946, and remained married to his death. Mary Brooks later became a member of the Idaho Senate. and for eight years was Director of the United States Mint during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Her son,

John Peavey John Peavey (born September 1, 1933) is a rancher and Democratic politician from Carey, Idaho. Peavey served in the Idaho Senate from 1969 to 1976 and from 1978 to 1994. From a young age Peavey worked on the ranch founded by his grandfather, U ...

(b. 1933), is a former Democratic politician in Idaho, formerly a Republican.

References

External links

Political Graveyard.com
– Charles W. Brooks * 1897 births 1957 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I People from Bureau County, Illinois Old Right (United States) Republican Party United States senators from Illinois Illinois Republicans 20th-century American politicians United States Marine Corps officers Military personnel from Illinois {{USMC-bio-stub