Richard Charles Hunter (December 3, 1884 – January 23, 1941) was an American attorney and Democratic politician from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. He was most prominent for his service as a United States Senator (1934–1935) and as Nebraska's state attorney general (1937–1939).

Biography

Hunter was born in

West Point, Nebraska West Point is a city in and the county seat of Cuming County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,504 at the 2020 census. History West Point was founded in the spring of 1857, when Omaha businessmen formed the Nebraska Settlement Asso ...

on December 3, 1884, the son of Jabez Richard Hunter and Sarah Frances (Olmstead) Hunter. His family moved to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

in 1885, and Hunter attended the Omaha public schools and graduated from Omaha High School in 1904. He graduated from the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1909. He attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

and received his

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1911. Hunter was a member of Columbia's debate team in 1911, and was a member of the Delta Sigma Rho and

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

fraternities.

Career

Hunter was

admission 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 ...

and began to practice in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. He returned to Omaha in 1912, where he continued to practice law. He served in the

Nebraska House of Representatives The Nebraska House of Representatives was the lower house of the Nebraska Legislature during the days when Nebraska was a territory from 1854 to 1867 and then as a state from 1867 to 1936. In 1934, Nebraska voters amended the Nebraska Constitut ...

and as judge of Omaha's Municipal Court from 1915 to 1917. He ran unsuccessfully for state

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

in 1920 and state Railway Commissioner in 1928. Hunter was elected to the United States Senate in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

in a special election to serve out the final two months of the term of Robert B. Howell, who died in office. He was not a candidate for the regular election and served from November 7, 1934 to January 3, 1935. In 1936, he was the successful Democratic nominee for

Nebraska Attorney General The Nebraska attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for the U.S. state of Nebraska. List of attorneys general ;Parties Notes References AG Office documentcached) External links Nebraska Attorney Generaloffici ...

, and served from 1937 to 1939. To date, he remains the last Democratic Attorney General of the state.ourcampaigns.com/ContainerHistory.html?ContainerID=2287

Death and burial

He died in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

on January 23, 1941. He was buried at West Lawn Memorial Park in Omaha.

Family

On April 22, 1908, Hunter married Viletta G. Taylor (1887–1937). They had no children.

References

Sources

Books

Newspapers

External links

* * *
Unsworn Senators
, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', January 14, 1935. Article about Hunter and Rush D. Holt Sr. * 1884 births 1941 deaths University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Harvard Law School alumni Democratic Party members of the Nebraska House of Representatives Nebraska state court judges Nebraska attorneys general Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska Columbia Law School alumni Democratic Party United States senators from Nebraska 20th-century American judges Lawyers from Omaha, Nebraska People from West Point, Nebraska 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the Nebraska Legislature {{Nebraska-politician-stub