Newton Whiting Gilbert (May 24, 1862 – July 5, 1939) was an American politician from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He was member of the

Indiana State Senate The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-yea ...

from 1896 to 1900,

Lieutenant Governor of Indiana The lieutenant governor of Indiana is a Constitution of Indiana, constitutional office in the US state of Indiana. Republican Party (United States), Republican Micah Beckwith, who assumed office January 13, 2025, is the incumbent. The office hol ...

from 1900 to 1904, and elected Republican to the 59th Congress from 1905 to 1906. He then left for the Philippines and served eleven years in islands. In 1908, he was appointed member of the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The First Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Pre ...

and Chairman of the Board of Regents of the newly-established

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

. He was also appointed as the Philippine Secretary of Public Instruction. He then became Vice

Governor-General of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

from 1910 to 1913 and acting Governor-General in 1913.

Early life and education

Gilbert was born on May 24, 1862 in Worthington,

Franklin County, Ohio Franklin County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,323,807, making it the List of counties in Ohio, most populous county in Ohio. Most of its la ...

. His parents moved in 1875 to

Steuben County, Indiana Steuben County is a County (United States), county in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census the county population was 34,435. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Angola, Indiana, Ango ...

. His father was Theodore Gilbert, a country merchant in Ohio, while his mother, Ellen L. Johnson, was the granddaughter of former

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

, Joseph E. Johnson. He studied law at the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1885.

Career

In his early career, he practiced as a lawyer in

Angola, Indiana Angola is a city in Pleasant Township, Steuben County, Indiana, United States. The population was 8,612 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Steuben County. Angola was founded by Thomas Gale and Cornelius Gilmore on June 28, 1838, ...

and was appointed surveyor of Steuben County, Indiana in 1886. During the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

, he was captain of Company H, One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was the 25th lieutenant governor of Indiana from 1900 to 1904, a member of the

from 1896 to 1900 and a representative 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 ...

from March 4, 1905 until his resignation on November 6, 1906.Newton W. Gilbert
at ''Political Graveyard'' In 1906, he accepted his appointment as judge of the court of first instance in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. He was Chairman of the Board of Regents and acting

President of the University of the Philippines The president of the University of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Pangulo ng'' ''Unibersidad ng Pilipinas'') is the chief administrator and principal executive officer of the University of the Philippines. The president is elected for a single six ...

since its establishment in 1908. In 1910, he became Vice Governor-General of the Philippine Islands and an acting

governor-general of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

from September 1, 1913, to October 6, 1913. In 1908, Newton W. Gilbert also served on the

, the appointed

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular ...

of the American colonial

Insular Government The Philippine Insular GovernmentThis form of the name appeared in the titles of US Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See Costas v. Government of the Philippine Islands, 221 U.S. 623, 1911. The Administrative Code of the Phil ...

of the Philippines. In 1916, he was 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 ...

Philippine independence

Amidst the discussion on Philippine independence in 1930 on the U.S. Senate, Gilbert sent a letter to the Senate Territories Committee that U.S. withdrawal in the Philippines would disturb the "equilibrium" of the Far East. He feared of possible Chinese invasion and consequences of a World War. In 1937, Gilbert retired from politics. He moved to

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

and died there on July 5, 1939.

Legacy

In 1914, the Gilbert Bridge in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines was completed and named after his honor.

Selected publications

* *

References

External links

* 1862 births 1939 deaths People from Worthington, Ohio Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana Governors-general of the Philippine Islands Secretaries of education of the Philippines Lieutenant governors of Indiana Republican Party Indiana state senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly {{Philippines-politician-stub