Frank Gardner (May 8, 1872 – February 1, 1937) was an American lawyer and politician who served three terms as a

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from Indiana from 1923 to 1929.

Biography

He was born on a farm in Finley Township, near

Scottsburg, Indiana Scottsburg is a city within Vienna Township, Scott County, Indiana, Vienna Township and the county seat of Scott County, Indiana, Scott County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, about north of Louisville, Kentucky. The population of Scottsburg was ...

, and attended the rural schools. He graduated from the Borden Institute,

Clark County, Indiana Clark County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Indiana, located directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 121,093. The county seat is Jeffer ...

, in 1896 and from the law department of

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

in 1900. He 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 1900 and started practicing law in

. He was the auditor of Scott County from 1903 to 1911, the county attorney from 1911, a member of the Democratic county committee and its chairman from 1912 to 1922, and a field examiner for the State Board of Accounts from 1911 to 1920.

Congress

Gardner was elected as a

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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Sixty-Eighth Congress in 1922. His predecessor in the district, Republican James W. Dunbar, had chosen not to run for reelection. Gardner was reelected to the Sixty-Ninth and Seventieth Congresses (March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1929).

Later career and death

In 1928, James W. Dunbar ran for election to his former seat and defeated Gardner. Gardner resumed practicing law in

. In 1930 he was elected judge of the sixth judicial circuit of Indiana in 1930. He was reelected in 1936 and served until his death in

, on February 1, 1937. He was interred in Scottsburg Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Frank 1872 births 1937 deaths Indiana University Bloomington alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives