Thomas Sterling (February 21, 1851August 26, 1930) was an American lawyer, politician, and academic who served as a member of the United States Senate and the first dean of the University of South Dakota College of Law. A Republican, he served in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1913 to 1925. He later served as dean and law professor at

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

. The University of South Dakota School of Law awards "Sterling Honors" to their graduating top 10% in honor of their first dean.

Early life and education

Sterling, was born near Amanda, Ohio. He moved with his parents, Charles Sterling (1821–1905) and Anna Kessler (1827–1908) to McLean County, Illinois in 1854, where he attended the public schools and graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University at Bloomington in 1875.

Career

He was superintendent of schools of Bement, Illinois from 1875 to 1877. His brother John A. Sterling, became a U.S. representative from Illinois.

Law

Sterling studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1878, commencing his practice in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

. He became the city prosecuting attorney in 1880 until 1881. In 1882 he moved to the

Territory of Dakota The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

and located in Northville, Dakota Territory. He moved to Redfield in 1886 and continued the practice of law, serving as district attorney of Spink County, South Dakota from 1886 to 1888. In 1889, he became a member of the State constitutional convention, and a year later in 1890 a member of the State senate. From 1901 to 1911 he was the first dean of the University of South Dakota College of Law at Vermillion.

Politics

He was elected in 1912 as a Republican to the United States Senate, was reelected in 1918, and served from March 4, 1913, to March 3, 1925. During this time, he served on the Overman Committee investigating seditious German and Bolshevik activities. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1924, losing in the Republican primary to

William H. McMaster William Henry McMaster (May 10, 1877September 14, 1968) was an American Republican politician who served as the tenth Governor of South Dakota, serving from 1921 until 1925. He also served as a member of the United States Senate from South Dako ...

, who won the general election. During the

Sixty-sixth Congress The 66th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919, to Ma ...

, he was the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Civil Service. In the

Sixty-seventh Congress The 67th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 192 ...

he served on the Committee on Civil Service, and on the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads during the

Sixty-eighth Congress The 68th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1923, ...

. While he served in Congress he served with William Williamson and

Royal C. Johnson Royal Cleaves Johnson (October 3, 1882 – August 2, 1939) was a U.S. Representative from South Dakota and a highly decorated veteran of World War I while he was still a member of Congress. Despite voting against United States declaration of war ...

, two of his first graduates from the College of Law.

Later career

He practiced law in Washington, D.C., and served on the faculty of National University Law School, now George Washington University School of Law. He was appointed by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

in 1925 as field secretary of the Commission for the Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington.

Death

Sterling died in Washington, D.C. on August 26, 1930. He was interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling, Thomas 1851 births 1930 deaths People from Fairfield County, Ohio Republican Party United States senators from South Dakota South Dakota Republicans South Dakota lawyers People from McLean County, Illinois People from Redfield, South Dakota School superintendents in Illinois Deans of law schools in the United States American university and college faculty deans