Charles Irving Dawson (February 13, 1881 – April 24, 1969) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky (in case citations, W.D. Ky.) is the United States district court, federal district court for the western part of the state of Kentucky. Appeals from the Western District of K ...

. He also served in the state legislature. He was a Democrat until 1909 when he joined the Republican Party.

Education and career

Born on February 13, 1881, in

Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States: * Logan County, Arkansas * Logan County, Colorado * Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895) * Logan County, Illinois * Logan County, Kansas * Logan County ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, Dawson attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

and

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

in 1905. He entered private practice in Russellville, Kentucky from 1905 to 1906. He continued in private practice in Pineville, Kentucky starting in 1906. He was a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

in 1906. He was the county attorney of Bell County from 1910 through 1919. and

Attorney General of Kentucky The attorney general of Kentucky is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Kentucky, created by the Kentucky Constitution (Ky.Const. § 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), ...

from 1920 through 1923. He was the Republican nominee for governor in 1923, losing to Democrat

William J. Fields William Jason Fields (December 29, 1874October 21, 1954) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. Known as "Honest Bill from Olive Hill", he represented Kentucky's Ninth District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 19 ...

. From 1925 to 1935 he was U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky. He resigned to return to the practice of law and was the Republican nominee for U.S. senator in 1950, losing to Democratic Gov.

Earle C. Clements Earle Chester Clements (October 22, 1896 – March 12, 1985) was a Kentucky politician. He represented the Commonwealth of Kentucky in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and was its 47th Governor, serving from 1947 t ...

. Dawson was a member of the Democratic Party until 1909, and a member of the Republican Party from 1909.

Federal judicial service

Dawson was nominated 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 ...

on January 2, 1925, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Charles H. Moorman. He was confirmed by 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 ...

on January 13, 1925, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on June 30, 1935, due to his resignation.

Later career and death

Dawson resumed private practice in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, Kentucky from 1935 to 1969. He died on April 24, 1969, in

Pewee Valley, Kentucky Pewee Valley is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Oldham County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,588 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The site of present-day Pewee Valley was first settled ...

. He was interred in

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...

in Louisville.

Unsuccessful political campaigns

In 1923 Dawson, still serving as attorney general, was the Republican nominee for

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; sinc ...

. The Democratic nominee, J. Campbell Cantrill, suddenly died that September, after defeating

Alben Barkley Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was the 35th vice president of the United States serving from 1949 to 1953 under President Harry S. Truman. In 1905, he was elected to local offices and in 1912 as a U.S. rep ...

for the nomination. Democrat

quickly replaced Cantrill on the ticket after Barkley declined the nomination. Dawson lost the general election to Fields, winning 306,277 votes (46.2%) to Fields' 356.035 (53.8%). In 1950 Dawson was the Republican nominee for a seat in the

. Dawson lost that race to Democrat

, who won 300,276 votes (53.9%) to Dawson's 256,876 (46.1%). Clements went on to become the assistant majority floor leader under

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, serving as

Majority Leader of the United States Senate The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...

during Johnson's extended absence for medical reasons.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Dawson at Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Charles I. 1881 births 1969 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky United States district court judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge Kentucky attorneys general Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives People from Russellville, Kentucky Kentucky Republicans People from Bell County, Kentucky United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Kentucky Democrats Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly Kentucky county attorneys