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

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

from 1949 to 1951.

Biography

Thurman Crook was born on a farm near

Peru, Indiana Peru is a city in, and the county seat of, Miami County, Indiana, United States. It is north of Indianapolis. The population was 11,417 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous city in Miami County. Peru is located along the Wabash Riv ...

and attended the Cass County schools,

Logansport High School Logansport Community High School is a high school located in Logansport, Indiana, USA. The first recorded commencement took place in June 1871, at the Mesodian Opera House, with three graduates. History High School classes had first been offe ...

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

, before graduating from

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universi ...

in 1930. He learned the carpentry 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 m ...

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

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referen ...

book company. He was 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 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northwest of Kokomo. H ...

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 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 terms ...

from 1943 to 1947. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1946 to the

Eightieth Congress The 80th 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, DC from January 3, 1947, ...

. 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 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, 19 ...

. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1956 to the

Eighty-fifth Congress The 85th 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, 1957 ...

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 6,218 at the 2010 census. History Rochester was laid out in 1835. The founder Alexander Chamberlain named it for his former hometown of R ...

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 politicians 20th-century American male writers Educators from Indiana