Boies Penrose (November 1, 1860 – December 31, 1921) was an American lawyer and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. After serving in both houses of the Pennsylvania legislature, he represented

in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

from 1897 until his death in 1921. Penrose was the fourth

political boss In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...

of the Pennsylvania Republican

political machine In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...

(known under his bossism as the

Penrose machine The Cameron machine, later known as the Quay machine and Penrose machine, was a Republican political machine in Pennsylvania that controlled much of the state's politics for seven decades. Founded by antislavery Know Nothing and Republican Simon ...

), following

Simon Cameron Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...

Donald Cameron Donald Cameron may refer to: Scottish Clan Cameron * Donald Cameron of Lochiel (c. 1695 or 1700–1748), 19th Chief, and his descendants: ** Donald Cameron, 22nd Lochiel (1769–1832), 22nd Chief ** Donald Cameron of Lochiel (1835–1905), Scott ...

, and

Matthew Quay Matthew Stanley "Matt" Quay (September 30, 1833May 28, 1904) was an American politician of the Republican Party who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1887 until 1899 and from 1901 until his death in 1904. Quay's control ...

. Penrose was the longest-serving Pennsylvania U.S. senator until

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican from ...

surpassed his record in 2005.

Early life

Born into a prominent

Old Philadelphian Old Philadelphians, also called Proper PhiladelphiansSee generally, Baltzell, Nalle , "Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia" and "Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class." or Perennial Philadelphians, are the First Families o ...

family of Cornish descent, he was a grandson of Speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate

Charles B. Penrose Charles Bingham Penrose (October 6, 1798 – April 6, 1857) was a Pennsylvania attorney and politician. He served as Speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate, Solicitor of the United States Treasury, and the first Assistant Secretary of the Treasury ...

and brother of gynecologist

Charles Bingham Penrose Charles Bingham Penrose (February 1, 1862 – February 28, 1925) was an American gynecologist, surgeon, zoologist and conservationist, known for inventing a type of surgical drainage tubing called the Penrose drain. He was a professor at the U ...

and mining entrepreneurs

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

and Spencer. He was a descendant of the prominent Biddle family of Philadelphia. Penrose attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he became a member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

. He graduated second in his class in 1881. After reading the law with an established firm, he was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1883.

State politics

Although Penrose wrote two books on political reform, he joined the political machine of

, a Pennsylvania Republican

. He was elected to the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

in 1884, and was elected to the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

for the 6th district in 1886. He served as

president pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

from 1889 to 1891. Penrose served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1884 to 1886 and as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 6th district from 1887 to 1897. He was

President Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

from 1889 to 1891. Penrose was elected Chairman of the State Republican Party in 1903, succeeding fellow Senator

. A year later, Quay died, and Penrose was appointed to succeed him as the state's

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

man. He quickly became a power broker in the state, enabling figures like Richard Baldwin to advance through loyalty to his organization. In 1912, Penrose was forced out of power by the progressive faction of the party led by

William Flinn William Flinn (1851–1924) was a powerful political boss and construction magnate in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Along with Christopher Magee (1848–1901), his political partner, the two ran the Republican Party machine that co ...

, in 1912. Penrose did not stand for re-election to his national committee post. However, following Flinn's departure from the party to support

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 ...

's Progressive Party, Penrose was able to garner enough support to return to his post as national committeeman and would remain in the position until his death.

U.S. Senator

In 1897, the state legislature elected Penrose to the United States Senate over

John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a ...

. He left his office as a State Senator that year to take the new position. Penrose was a dominant member of the

Senate Finance Committee The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...

and supported high protective

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...

s. He had also served on the United States Senate Committee on Banking,

United States Senate Committee on Naval Affairs The Committee on Armed Services (sometimes abbreviated SASC for ''Senate Armed Services Committee'') is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defe ...

United States Senate Committee on Post Office and Post Roads 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 ...

United States Senate Committee on Education and Labor The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction also extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Sena ...

, and

United States Senate Committee on Immigration The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

."Senator Boies Penrose Dead," ''Indianapolis Sunday Star'', 1922-01-01 at p. 1, retrieved 2012-10-15. One of Penrose's most important legislative actions was adding the "oil depletion allowance" to the

Revenue Act of 1913 The Revenue Act of 1913, also known as the Underwood Tariff or the Underwood-Simmons Act (ch. 16, ), re-established a federal income tax in the United States and substantially lowered tariff rates. The act was sponsored by Representative Oscar U ...

. Penrose consistently supported "pro-business" policies, and opposed labor reform and women's rights. In the 1912 presidential election, Penrose strongly supported incumbent President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

over former President

. After a campaign that consisted of heavy attacks on Penrose, Roosevelt won the state in the 1912 election, although Democrat

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

won the national vote. Penrose was also a major supporter of

Warren Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. ...

, and helped the Ohio Senator win the

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

Republican nomination. Penrose's role in Harding's election helped earn Pennsylvanian

Andrew W. Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

the role of

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

. In

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

, Penrose faced his first direct election (following the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment). He publicly campaigned for the first time in his life and defeated Democrat

A. Mitchell Palmer Alexander Mitchell Palmer (May 4, 1872 – May 11, 1936), was an American attorney and politician who served as the 50th United States attorney general from 1919 to 1921. He is best known for overseeing the Palmer Raids during the Red Scare ...

and Progressive

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 ...

. In November 1915, Penrose accompanied the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

on its nationwide tour returning to

from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

; Penrose accompanied the bell to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and then to

. The Liberty Bell has not been moved from Pennsylvania since.

Personal life and business

Penrose was an avid outdoorsman and took pleasure in mountain exploration and big-game hunting. Penrose climbed and named at least two mountains: one in Montana and another in the Dickson Range in the

Bridge River Country The Bridge River Country is a historic geographic region and mining district in the Interior of British Columbia, Canada, lying between the Fraser Canyon and the valley of the Lillooet River, south of the Chilcotin Plateau and north of the Lillooet ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The Senator was a large, heavy man and, according to his hunting guide, W.G. (Bill) Manson, they had to spend a lot of time to find a horse hop big enough to carry Penrose and his custom saddle. The horse was called "Senator." After Penrose stopped riding, the horse was retired to pasture because no standard saddle would fit him. In 1903 Boies, along with his brothers and father, invested in the formation of the

Utah Copper Company Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

Death and legacy

Penrose died in his Wardman Park penthouse suite in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in the last hour of 1921, after suffering a pulmonary thrombosis. He was buried in the family grave section in the

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

. Following Penrose's death, his lieutenant Joseph Grundy became one of the leaders of the Republican machine, but no one boss dominated the party like Penrose and his predecessors had. A statue of Penrose modeled by Philadelphia sculptor Samuel Murray has been in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

's Capitol Park since September 1930.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Penrose, Boies 1860 births 1921 deaths 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians American people of Cornish descent American political bosses from Pennsylvania Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Chairs of the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania Deaths from pulmonary embolism Episcopal Academy alumni Harvard University alumni Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Philadelphia Presidents pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Party United States senators from Pennsylvania Conservatism in the United States