Charles Sumner Bird (August 15, 1855 – October 9, 1927) was an American politician from Massachusetts. A

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

Republican, Bird served as the Progressive Party's gubernatorial candidate in the

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

and

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...

Massachusetts gubernatorial elections.

Life

Charlies Sumner Bird was born on August 15, 1855, in Walpole, Massachusetts, to Francis William Bird and Abby Frances. In 1877 he graduated from Harvard and joined the Bird Corporation (then named "Bird and Son"), although he had initially wanted to go into law. He expanded the company's mills to Rhode Island and Canada and was one of the first to adopt the eight-hour work day. In 1880 he married Anna J. Child (Jan 12, 1855–Nov 20, 1942) and had four children with her. She became the first woman from Massachusetts to be a member of the Republican National Committee (1921-1928), and was also the founder of a women's suffrage group in Boston. In

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...

he entered politics, supporting New York Governor Grover Cleveland for president in

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

and

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

. After William Jennings Bryan won the Democratic nomination in 1896, he left the Democratic Party and joined the pro- gold standard National Democratic Party. During the

1912 presidential election The following elections occurred in the year 1912. Asia * 1912 Chinese National Assembly election (first election for the newly founded National Assembly of the Republic of China) * 1912 Philippine Assembly elections Europe * 1912 German federal ...

he supported former President Theodore Roosevelt in his attempt to win the Republican nomination and after he left to form the Progressive Party, which Bird joined. In 1912 and 1913, Bird was the Progressive Party's candidate for governor of Massachusetts. Later in life Bird supported the Eighteenth Amendment and attacked unionization as "the greatest crisis that ... this nation has faced for half a century." On October 9, 1927, Bird died at his home in Walpole, Massachusetts, after being ill for two years. He left behind an estate worth $12,300,000 ($180,723,051 with inflation).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Charles SUmner 1855 births 1927 deaths 20th-century American politicians Massachusetts Democrats Massachusetts Progressives (1912) Massachusetts Republicans National Democratic Party (United States) politicians Politicians from Boston People from Walpole, Massachusetts Harvard University alumni