Frederick Albert Britten (November 18, 1871 – May 4, 1946) was 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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Early life

Frederick Albert Britten was born on November 18, 1871, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Britten attended Heald's Business College,

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Britten competed in an

amateur boxing Amateur boxing is the variant of boxing practiced in clubs and associations around the world, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as at the varsity sports, collegiate level. Amateur boxing bouts comprise three ...

tournament at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

in 1893. He won the Pacific Coast Championship in 1892, the Central Championship at Chicago in 1893 and the Eastern Championship at Chicago in 1894.

Career

Britten was a construction worker and a business executive before his political career began. He served as member of the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...

from 1908 to 1912, representing the 23rd ward. He served as member and chairman of the city civil service committee in 1909. Then he served as member of the executive committee of the American group of the

Interparliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

from 1923 to 1934. He also served as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

in 1936. In the early 1920s, Britten issued resolution condemning France for the "

Black Horror on the Rhine The Black Horror on the Rhine was a moral panic aroused in Weimar Germany and elsewhere concerning allegations of widespread crimes, especially sexual crimes, supposedly committed by Senegalese Tirailleurs, Senegalese and other African soldiers s ...

", and which called the Senegalese "semi-civilized, useless and oft-times brutal defamers of women". Britten was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-third and to the ten succeeding Congresses (1913–1935). On April 5, 1917, he was one of the 50 representatives who voted against declaring war on

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He served as chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs from 1928 to 1931 ( Seventieth and Seventy-first Congress). Britten worked to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Seventy-fourth Congress in 1934. In 1938, he worked on an importing and exporting business in Chicago.

Personal life

Britten married Alma Hand of

Weiser, Idaho Weiser ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Idaho. With its mild climate, the city supports farm, orchard, and livestock endeavors in the vicinity. The city sits at the confluence of the Weiser River with the great Snake Ri ...

on March 4, 1907. While serving in congress, Britten and his family took up residence at the Emma S. Fitzhugh House at 2253 R Street Northwest, Washington, D.C., and continued residing there even after retiring from politics in 1935. Britten then bought the house from Emma S. Fitzhugh on June 19, 1941 and eventually sold the house to

Joaquín M. Elizalde Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez), ...

, the first ambassador of the Philippines to the United States on October 14, 1946. The house then became the official residence of Philippine ambassadors to the United States.

Death

Britten died on May 4, 1946, at Walter Reed Hospital in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. He was interred in Abbey Mausoleum in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. He was later reinterred in an unknown location.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Britten, Frederick Albert 1871 births 1946 deaths American white supremacists Chicago City Council members Boxers from Chicago Heald College alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois American male boxers 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives