Tom Stout (May 20, 1879 – December 26, 1965) was an American educator and lawyer who served two terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from

Montana's at-large congressional district From 1993 to 2023, Montana was represented in the United States House of Representatives by one at-large List of United States congressional districts, congressional district, among the 435 in the United States Congress. The district was the mo ...

from March 4, 1913, to March 3, 1917.

Biography

Stout was born in

New London, Missouri New London is a city in Ralls County, Missouri, United States. The population was 943 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ralls County. New London is part of the Hannibal Micropolitan Statistical Area. William Jameson, claimed land, ma ...

, in 1879, and attended the University of Missouri at Columbia, where he studied and later taught law. In 1902, he moved to

Lewistown, Montana Lewistown is a city in and the county seat of Fergus County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,952 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lewistown is located in the geographic center of the state, southeast of Great Falls, Mo ...

, and entered publishing, working as the editor and publisher of the ''Fergus County Democrat'' from 1902 to 1916 and the ''Lewistown Democrat News'' from 1916 to 1946. He was elected to the

Montana Senate The Montana State Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years. Half of the Senate is up for election every two years. ...

in 1910, and served until 1913.

Congress

Following the

1910 United States Census The 1910 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 census ...

, Montana gained an additional seat in the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

. Rather than create separate districts, the existing

began separately electing two members, and Stout ran for Seat B in 1912. He was narrowly elected to the seat and was re-elected in 1914. Stout did not seek re-election in 1916 and returned to Montana, continuing his work in the newspaper business.

Later career and death

In the early 1930s, Stout served as a member of the

Montana Public Service Commission The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) is a quasi-judicial regulatory board of elected officials in the U.S. state of Montana. The PSC regulates private, investor-owned natural gas, electric, telephone, water and private sewer companies doi ...

, and in 1942, he was elected to the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

. He was subsequently re-elected in 1944 and 1946, and, after he exited the legislature, he worked as an editorial writer for the ''

Billings Gazette The ''Billings Gazette'' is a daily newspaper based in Billings, Montana, that primarily covers issues in southeast Montana and parts of northern Wyoming. Historically it has been known as the largest newspaper in Montana Montana ( ) is a ...

'' from 1947 to 1960. Until his death in 1965, he resided in

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stout, Tom 1879 births 1965 deaths Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Democratic Party Montana state senators University of Missouri alumni Politicians from Billings, Montana Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Montana People from Ralls County, Missouri People from Lewistown, Montana 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Montana Legislature