Thurman Charles Crook (July 18, 1891 – October 23, 1981) was an American politician who served one term as a

United States representative 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

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 ...

from 1949 to 1951.

Biography

Thurman Crook was born at a farm near

Peru, Indiana Peru is a city in, and the county seat of, Miami County, Indiana, Miami County, Indiana, United States. It is north of Indianapolis. The population was 11,073 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous community in Miami County. Peru is loc ...

and attended the Cass County schools,

Logansport High School Logansport Community High School is a high school located in Logansport, Indiana, USA. It is a part of the Logansport Community School Corporation. The first recorded commencement took place in June 1871, at the Mesodian Opera House, with thre ...

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, before graduating from

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

in 1930. He learned the

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. C ...

and

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

trades, and later taught departmental work and coached athletics in Indiana high schools from 1913 to 1948. Crook wrote a book in 1928 entitled ''Mechanical Drawing, a Textbook for Beginners'', which was published by the

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

book company. Later, he became a fruit grower near

Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash River, Wabash an ...

from 1924 to 1947.

Political career

Crook was a member of the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

from 1939 to 1943, and then served in the

Indiana 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-year ...

from 1943 to 1947. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1946 to the Eightieth Congress. Crook was elected as a Democrat to the

Eighty-first Congress The 81st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 194 ...

(January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951) but he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1950 to the

Eighty-second Congress The 82nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...

and for election in 1956 to the Eighty-fifth Congress.

Later career and death

After leaving Congress, Crook worked as a farmer, horticulturist, and sheep raiser. He was a resident of

Macy, Indiana Macy is a town in Allen Township, Miami County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 199 at the 2020 census. History Macy was laid out in 1860 at the time the railroad arrived in the neighborhood. The community was originally known ...

until his death in

Rochester, Indiana Rochester is a city in, and the county seat of, Fulton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,270 at the 2020 census. History Rochester was laid out in 1835. The founder Alexander Chamberlain named it for his former hometown of ...

in 1981 at age 90.

References

Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crook, Thurman C. 1891 births 1981 deaths Farmers from Indiana American textbook writers American male non-fiction writers American horticulturists Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives People from Peru, Indiana Indiana State University alumni Valparaiso University alumni Democratic Party Indiana state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana People from Cass County, Indiana People from Miami County, Indiana 20th-century American male writers Educators from Indiana 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly