Mathew Harris Ellsworth (September 17, 1899 – February 7, 1986) was an American newspaperman and politician who served six terms as a Republican

U.S. congressman 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

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

from 1943 to 1957. He subsequently served as chairman of the

United States Civil Service Commission The United States Civil Service Commission was a government agency of the federal government of the United States. It was created to select employees of federal government on merit rather than relationships. In 1979, it was dissolved as part of ...

. Prior to serving 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 ...

, Ellsworth had served for one day in the

Oregon Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

in the 41st Oregon Legislative Assembly.

Early life

Born in

Hoquiam, Washington Hoquiam ( ) is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, Grays Harbor County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It borders the city of Aberdeen, Washington, Aberdeen at Myrtle Street, with Hoquiam to the west. The two cities share a ...

, Ellsworth moved together with his parents to

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, and later to nearby Wendling, where he attended public schools."Ellsworth, Mathew Harris."
''

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates fr ...

.'' Text from this

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source has been incorporated into this article. In 1922, he graduated with a

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

degree from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. He worked in the newspaper and lumber industries in the 1920s, and was an associate professor of journalism at the University of Oregon in 1928 and 1929. While serving as manager of the Oregon State Editorial Association (now the

Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association is a trade association for all paid-circulation daily, weekly, and multi-weekly newspapers in the U.S. state of Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the ...

), in 1929, he purchased an interest in ''The Roseburg News-Review'', eventually becoming its editor and publisher. Ellsworth helped to bring a

Veteran's Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

hospital to Roseburg, which provided construction jobs to the area hard-hit by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. In 1936, he was instrumental in bringing KRNR radio on the air, one of Oregon's first radio stations based outside of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Political career

In 1941, Ellsworth was appointed to the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

on March 15, the last day of

the session ''Being Erica'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that aired on CBC from January 5, 2009, to December 12, 2011. Created by Jana Sinyor, the series was originally announced by the CBC as ''The Session'', but was later retitled ''Being ...

to replace C. W. Clark, who died 5 days prior, thus serving only one day.

Congress

In 1942, Ellsworth was elected to the

, representing

Oregon's 4th congressional district Oregon's 4th congressional district represents the southern half of Oregon's coastal counties, including Coos County, Oregon, Coos, Curry County, Oregon, Curry, Lincoln County, Oregon, Lincoln, Lane County, Oregon, Lane, and Benton County, Or ...

, which had just been established after the

1940 census The 1940 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 132,164,569, an increase of 7.6 percent over the 1930 population of 122,775,046 people. The census date of record was A ...

. He served seven terms, and sat on the

House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Co ...

and

House Rules Committee The Committee on Rules (or more commonly the Rules Committee) is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the rules under which bills will be presented to the House of Representatives, unlike other committ ...

. In the 1956 election, he was narrowly defeated by

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 ...

Charles O. Porter, whom Ellsworth had defeated two years earlier.

Eisenhower administration

After losing the election, Ellsworth was appointed by

President Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary ...

to a two-year term as

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the

, serving from April 18, 1957 until resigning on February 28, 1959.

After Congress

Ellsworth left politics and resumed his newspaper business and became a

real estate broker Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

. He retired to

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

in the 1970s.

Death and burial

Harris Ellsworth died on February 7, 1986. He was interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Albuquerque.Guide to the Harris Ellsworth papers at the University of Oregon
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References

External links

* ttp://www.newsreview.info/article/20021020/FEATURES/210200801 Biographyfrom Roseburg News-Review, 10/20/02 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellsworth, Harris 1899 births 1986 deaths University of Oregon alumni People from Hoquiam, Washington Republican Party Oregon state senators Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly