David Patterson Dyer (February 12, 1838 – April 29, 1924) was a United States representative from Missouri and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Education and career

Born on February 12, 1838, in Henry County, Virginia, Dyer moved with his parents to Lincoln County, Missouri in 1841 and completed preparatory studies. He attended St. Charles College in Missouri and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

and was admitted to the bar in March 1859, in Bowling Green, Pike County, Missouri. He entered private practice in Pike County, Missouri from 1859 to 1875. He was prosecutor for the Third Judicial Circuit of Missouri in 1860. During the American Civil War, Dyer served as a private in Captain Hardin’s company, Pike County Regiment, Missouri Home Guard, and as lieutenant colonel and colonel in th
Forty-ninth Regiment, Missouri Volunteer Infantry
He was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1862 to 1865. He was Secretary of the Missouri Senate in 1866. He was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 1868.

Congressional service

Dyer was elected as a Republican from

Missouri's 9th congressional district Missouri's 9th congressional district was a US congressional district, dissolved in 2013, that last encompassed rural Northeast Missouri, the area known as " Little Dixie," along with the larger towns of Columbia, Fulton, Kirksville and Unio ...

to the United States House of Representatives of the

41st United States Congress The 41st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1869, ...

, serving from March 4, 1869 to March 3, 1871. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1870 to the

42nd United States Congress The 42nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1871, ...

Later career

Following his departure from Congress, Dyer resumed private practice in St. Louis, Missouri from 1871 to 1902. He was the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1875 to 1876, and from March 9, 1902 to March 31, 1907. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Governor of Missouri in 1880.

Federal judicial service

Dyer was nominated by President Theodore Roosevelt on February 27, 1907, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri vacated by Judge

Gustavus A. Finkelnburg Gustavus Adolphus Finkelnburg (born Gustav Adolf Finkelnburg, ; April 6, 1837 – May 18, 1908) was a United States representative from Missouri and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of M ...

. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 1, 1907, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on November 3, 1919. His service terminated on April 29, 1924, due to his death in St. Louis. He was interred in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.

Family

Dyer was the uncle of

United States Representatives 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 they ...

Leonidas C. Dyer Leonidas Carstarphen Dyer (June 11, 1871 – December 15, 1957) was an American politician, reformer, civil rights activist, and military officer. A Republican, he served eleven terms in the U.S. Congress as a U.S. Representative from Missouri ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, David Patterson 1838 births 1924 deaths Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri United States district court judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Union Army colonels Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Missouri People from Lincoln County, Missouri People from Pike County, Missouri People from Henry County, Virginia