Charles William Frederick Dick (November 3, 1858 – March 13, 1945) was a Republican politician 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 in the

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

and

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

Early life

Born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, his parents were Gottlieb Dick (a Scots/German immigrant), and Magdalena or "Lena" (Von Handel) Dick, who immigrated to the United States from

Heidelberg, Germany Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. On June 30, 1881, Dick married Carrie May Peterson, the daughter of Dr. James Holman Peterson and Caroline Van Evera. They had five children: James, Lucius, Carl, Grace (Mrs. Edgar Williams) and Dorothy (Mrs. William Robinson). Dick was a Scottish Rite Mason,

Odd Fellow The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Odd Fellows, Order ...

, and Knight of Pythias.

Career

Early career

"Charley" Dick was educated in Akron, and worked at several stores and banks. In 1886, he was the successful Republican nominee for Summit County auditor, and he was re-elected in 1888. He also

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 ...

, and 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 1894. Dick was a delegate to the

1892 In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west. Events January * January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

and

1900 Republican National Convention The 1900 Republican National Convention was held June 19 to June 21 in the Exposition Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Exposition Auditorium was located south of the University of Pennsylvania, and the later Convention Hall was co ...

s. He was elected Chairman of the

Ohio Republican Party The Ohio Republican Party is the Ohio affiliate of the Republican Party. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1854. It currently holds the bulk of the state's political power, controlling 10 of Ohio's 15 U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. S ...

in 1887 and 1891, and served as the Secretary of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

from 1896 to 1900.

Military career

In November 1885 Dick joined the Ohio Army National Guard as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in Company B, 8th Ohio Infantry Regiment, and he was commissioned 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 se ...

a few days later. His regiment volunteered for service in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, and Dick served in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and lieutenant colonel. He continued his military service after the war, and attained the rank of major general as head of the Ohio National Guard. From 1902 to 1909 he was president of the National Guard Association of the United States.

Congressional career

He was elected to the

by a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in 1898 to fill a vacancy created by the death of Stephen A. Northway, serving the . Dick was Chairman of the Militia Committee, and sponsored the Militia Act of 1903 (the Dick Act). This act codified the circumstances under which the National Guard in each state could be federalized, provided federal resources for equipping and training the National Guard, and required National Guard units to organize and meet the same readiness requirements as the regular Army. Dick served until he resigned in 1904, having been elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

to fill the vacancy created by the death of Marcus A. Hanna. In the Senate he served as chairman of the Mining Committee and the Committee on Indian Depredations. He also was the head of a Congressional Committee which investigated hazing at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. He served until 1911, when he lost a bid for a second term. While in Congress, he became one of the largest stockholders in the

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturer headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for passenger vehicles, aviation, commercial trucks, military and police vehicles, motorcycles, recreati ...

, and served as a

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

and member of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

Later career

Dick practiced law after leaving the Senate, and pursued a successful business career, including ownership of the Franklin Square Hotel in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and the Hotel Chatham in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in 1918, losing to

Martin L. Davey Martin Luther Davey (July 25, 1884March 31, 1946) was an American U.S. Democratic Party, Democratic politician from Ohio. After serving in the US House of Representatives , U.S. House of Representatives, he served as the 53rd governor of Ohio. ...

. In 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, losing to Simeon D. Fess.

Retirement, death and burial

From 1941 until his death in Akron on March 13, 1945, Dick was the oldest living former US Senator. He was buried in Akron's Glendale Cemetery.

Legacy

Since 1988 the National Guard Association of the United States presents the annual Charles Dick Medal of Merit to recognize support for the National Guard by state and federal legislators.National Guard Association of the United States
Charles Dick Medal of Merit
, 2012

References

External links

Retrieved on 2009-05-16 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, Charles W. F. 1858 births 1945 deaths Politicians from Akron, Ohio Ohio lawyers County auditors in the United States Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Republican Party United States senators from Ohio American military personnel of the Spanish–American War National Guard (United States) generals Ohio National Guard personnel United States Army generals American people of German descent American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law 20th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives