Charles Henry Dietrich (November 26, 1853April 10, 1924) was the 11th Governor of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. Dietrich in mercantile pursuits and in banking. After serving as governor, he was elected U.S. Senator from May 1, 1901 to March 3, 1905.

Personal life

He was born in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...

, and was of

German ancestry , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. His education was attained in the public schools of his native state and he quit at the age of twelve. Dietrich was married twice. His first wife, Elizabeth Slaker, died in 1887. After Elizabeth's death, he married Margretta Stewart in on October 27, 1909. Deitrich and Margretta lived in

Hastings, Nebraska Hastings is a List of cities in Nebraska, city and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 25,152 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is known as the town where Kool-Aid ...

Career

Dietrich was employed as a clerk in a hardware store in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

. He moved to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and engaged in the hardware business. He moved to Deadwood,

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

(now

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

), in 1875 and engaged in mercantile pursuits, delivering goods on pack animals through the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

. He then located and owned the 'Aurora' mine. Dietrich settled in

, in 1878 and engaged in mercantile pursuits and in banking. Dietrich founded the German National Bank at Hastings and served as the president of the bank from 1887 to 1905. He became the president of the Hastings Board of Trade. Elected in 1900, Dietrich served as

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

from January 3, 1901, to May 1, 1901. He resigned his governorship to replace interim U.S. Senator

William V. Allen William Vincent Allen (January 28, 1847January 12, 1924) was an American jurist and twice a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from Nebraska. Early life Allen was born in Midway, Ohio. He moved with his parents to Iowa in 1857, where he attend ...

, who had been appointed in 1899 after Monroe L. Hayward died in office. His tenure in the Senate lasted from May 1, 1901 to March 3, 1905. His Senate service was most notable as a pro-

imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

on the

Lodge Committee The Committee on the Philippines was a standing committee of the United States Senate from 1899 to 1921. The committee was established by Senate resolution on December 15, 1899, to oversee administration of the Philippines, which Spain had ceded to ...

that investigated war crimes during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

. He did not run for reelection in 1904.

Bribery charge

Before he assumed his Senate seat, Dietrich accepted money from Jacob Fisher in exchange for obtaining Fisher's appointment as a U.S. Postmaster. Dietrich and Fisher were charged with conspiracy to receive a bribe, accepting a bribe and profiting by the leasing of a building to the government. But before the trial could begin, Judge Vandeventer held that Dietrich could not be prosecuted because the alleged bribery occurred after he was elected, but before Dietrich had been sworn in on December 2, 1901. All the charges were dropped, and Dietrich continued to serve as a US Senator from Nebraska.San Francisco Call
Volume 95, Number 40, January 9, 1904.

Death

Dietrich retired in 1924 and died in Hastings, Nebraska.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dietrich, Charles Henry 1853 births 1924 deaths People from Aurora, Illinois American people of German descent Republican Party United States senators from Nebraska Republican Party governors of Nebraska People from Hastings, Nebraska