Ralph Waldo Emerson Gilbert (January 17, 1882 – July 30, 1939) 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

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, son of George Gilmore Gilbert. Born in Taylorsville, Kentucky, Gilbert attended the public schools and the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. He was graduated from the law school of the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

in 1901. 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 ...

the same year and commenced practice in

Shelbyville, Kentucky Shelbyville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Kentucky, Shelby County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,282 at the 2020 census. History Early history The town of Shelbyville ...

. Gilbert was elected judge of the Shelby County Court in 1910. He was reelected in 1914 and served until his resignation in 1917. Gilbert 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-seventh and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1929). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1928 to the Seventy-first Congress. He served as member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

in 1929. Gilbert was elected to the Seventy-second Congress (March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1932. He resumed the practice of law in

. He again served in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1933. Gilbert was elected a member of the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout Kentucky, the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky senators. T ...

in 1936 and served until his death in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, July 30, 1939. He was interred in Grove Hill Cemetery,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Ralph Waldo Emerson 1882 births 1939 deaths Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky lawyers Kentucky state court judges Democratic Party Kentucky state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky People from Taylorsville, Kentucky People from Shelbyville, Kentucky 20th-century Kentucky state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly