Thomas Sterling (February 21, 1851August 26, 1930) was an American lawyer, politician, and academic who served as a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

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, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

. The

University of South Dakota School of Law The University of South Dakota School of Law also known as University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law or USD Law in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, is a professional school of the University of South Dakota and the only law school ...

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 McLean County is a U.S. county in the east central region of Illinois, and is the largest county by land area in the state. According to the 2020 Census, it had a population of 170,954. Its county seat is Bloomington. McLean County is includ ...

in 1854, where he attended the public schools and graduated from

Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856. History The in ...

at Bloomington in 1875.

Career

He was superintendent of schools of

Bement, Illinois Bement is a village in Piatt County, Illinois, Piatt County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 1,484 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the 2010 census, Bement has a total area of , all land. Demographics As of the cens ...

, 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

. 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 Spink County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 6,361. Its county seat is Redfield, South Dakota, Redfield. The county was created in 1873, ...

, 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 The Overman Committee was a special subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary chaired by North Carolina Democrat Lee Slater Overman. Between September 1918 and June 1919, it investigated German and Bolshevik elements ...

investigating

seditious Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establis ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

activities. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1924, losing in the Republican primary to William H. McMaster, who won the general election. During the Sixty-sixth Congress, he was the chairman of the

United States Senate Committee on Civil Service United States Senate Committee on Civil Service is a defunct committee of the United States Senate. The first standing Senate committee with jurisdiction over the civil service was the United States Senate Committee on Civil Service and Retrench ...

. 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, 19 ...

he served on the Committee on Civil Service, and on the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads during the Sixty-eighth Congress. While he served in Congress he served with William Williamson and Royal C. Johnson, two of his first graduates from the College of Law.

Later career

He practiced law in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, 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, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

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 anti-communists American university and college faculty deans Candidates in the 1907 United States elections 20th-century United States senators