Charles "Buck" McGovern (March 6, 1873 – August 29, 1962) was a Pennsylvania law enforcement officer, soldier, and politician best known for his role in the 1902 recapture of the condemned Biddle brothers after their escape from prison. An obituary called him a "rambunctious warhorse of the Republican Party in Pittsburgh

hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube designed to carry fluids from one location to another. Hoses are also sometimes called ''pipes'' (the word ''pipe'' usually refers to a rigid tube, whereas a hose is usually a flexible one), or more generally '' ...

50-year career had carried him to far continents and through a thousand-and-one battles as a politician,

Rough Rider The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

, two-gun policeman and detective." The Biddle Brothers episode served as a springboard for McGovern's later political career. He served in a private capacity to

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

during the presidential campaign of 1912. After serving in the cavalry during World War I, patrolling the border and participating in the Battle of Ciudad Juarez, McGovern was chosen as the Chief of the Pittsburgh City Detective Bureau in 1922. He resigned this position soon after in order to help with the election campaign of Governor

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsy ...

. The next year he was chosen as a State Department of Justice special agent, and from 1927-1935 he served as an Allegheny

County Commissioner A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

. An avid historian, McGovern also hosted a longstanding weekly radio program on WJAS Pittsburgh throughout the 1930s and 1940s. McGovern died on August 29, 1962, and was buried in Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGovern, Buck 1962 deaths 1873 births American police detectives Pennsylvania Republicans Allegheny County Councilmembers (Pennsylvania)