Henry W. Rothert (11 September 1840 – 29 January 1920) was an American politician. Rothert was of German descent, born to parents John H. and Margaret Rothert on 11 September 1840. The family resided in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. After Rothert graduated from high school there, he joined his brothers' hardware business. The Rotherts opened a branch in

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

, in 1858, and Henry moved west to manage it. Rothert was a

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 ...

. He was elected an alderman of Keokuk in 1868, and served through 1871, when he was elected mayor of the city. Rothert was reelected to the mayoralty the next year, and subsequently contested the 1873 Iowa Senate election. Rothert sat in the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

until 1878, representing

District 1 District 1 may refer to: * I District, Turku, in Finland * District 1, Düsseldorf, a district in Düsseldorf, Germany * Sector 1 (Bucharest), also known as District 1, in Bucharest, Romania * District I, Budapest in Budapest, Hungary * District ...

. He was president pro-tempore of the senate, and was duly elevated to acting

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

upon the ascension of Joshua G. Newbold to the governorship as

Samuel J. Kirkwood Samuel Jordan Kirkwood (December 20, 1813 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician who twice served as governor of Iowa, twice as a U.S. Senator from Iowa, and as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Early life and career Samuel Jordan ...

took office 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 ...

. Rothert was named register of the land office in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

, and held the position for approximately four years. In the same year that he had accepted the Wyoming post, Rothert contested the state senate seat he had once held. He won the 1881 election and served through 1886. In later life, Rothert focused on the field of education. He had previously served nine years on the Keokuk school board, and after he raised a deaf son, accepted the superintendency of the

Iowa School for the Deaf Iowa School for the Deaf is a pre-K to 12th grade school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students located in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It serves students who live in Iowa and Nebraska. History The founders of Iowa School for the Deaf were Edmund Booth ...

in 1887. Rothert resigned the position in August 1919, and remained in

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is lo ...

, where he died on 29 January 1920.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothert, Henry 1920 deaths American people of German descent Mayors of places in Iowa Iowa city council members School board members in Iowa Businesspeople from Cincinnati Politicians from Cincinnati People from Keokuk, Iowa School superintendents in Iowa 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators 19th-century American politicians Republican Party Iowa state senators Businesspeople from Iowa 19th-century American businesspeople Politicians from Council Bluffs, Iowa 1840 births