Harry Buffington Coffee (March 16, 1890 – October 3, 1972) was an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician. Born near

Harrison, Nebraska Harrison is a village in Sioux County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 239 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sioux County. History Harrison was originally called Bowen, and under that name was platted in 1886, when the Fr ...

on March 16, 1890, a son of Samuel Buffington Coffee and May Elizabeth Tisdale. Harry graduated from the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 1913. He sold real estate and insurance in

Chadron, Nebraska Chadron ( ) is a city and the county seat of Dawes County, in the state of Nebraska in the Great Plains region of the United States. The population was 5,851 at the 2010 census. This city is the location of Chadron State College. Chadron also is ...

from 1914 to 1939. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was a second lieutenant in the Air Service in 1917 and 1918. He organized the Coffee Cattle Co., Inc. in 1915 which owned many ranches in

Sioux County, Nebraska Sioux County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 1,311. Its county seat is Harrison, Nebraska, Harrison. Sioux County is included in the Scottsbluff, Nebrask ...

. He also did some farming. He was elected as a Democrat to the

Seventy-fourth Congress The 74th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1935, ...

and reelected to the next three Congresses, serving from January 3, 1935, to January 3, 1943. He ran for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1942 when his seat was merged and done away with, but he failed to obtain the nomination. He became a president of a stockyard company and a terminal railway company from 1943 until 1961. In 1961 he was named

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the company. He died in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

on October 3, 1972. He is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha. He was a member of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

and a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

References

;Notes # # * * 1890 births 1972 deaths Methodists from Nebraska University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni People from Sioux County, Nebraska United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska 20th-century American politicians Ranchers from Nebraska {{Nebraska-politician-stub