Lansdale Ghiselin Sasscer (September 30, 1893 – November 5, 1964) represented the fifth district of the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in the

United States House of 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for seven terms from 1939 to 1953. Sasscer was born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and graduated from

Dickinson School of Law Penn State Dickinson Law, formerly Dickinson School of Law, is a public law school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separately accredited law schools of The Pennsylvania State University. According to Penn State Dickinson Law's 2019 ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

in 1914. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Upper Marlboro. 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 served from 1917 to 1919, being overseas for thirteen months as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in the Fifty-ninth Artillery of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. After the War, Sasscer resumed the practice of law, and served as a member of the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

from 1922 to 1938, serving as

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

in 1935 and 1937. He was delegate to the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

and 1936

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

s, and vice chairman of the committee on reorganization of the State government in 1939. Sasscer was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Congress to fill the vacancy left open as a result of the death of

Stephen Gambrill Stephen Warfield Gambrill (October 2, 1873 – December 19, 1938) was an American politician. Early life Born near Savage, Maryland, to Stephen Gambrill and Kate (Gorman) Gambrill, he attended the common schools and Maryland Agricultural ...

, serving from February 3, 1939, to January 3, 1953. Sasscer chose not to run for re-election in 1952, and instead attempted to win election to 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 ...

seat being vacated by Herbert O'Conor, but lost the nomination to

George P. Mahoney George Perry Mahoney (December 16, 1901 – March 18, 1989) was an Irish American Catholic building contractor and Democratic Party politician from the State of Maryland. A perennial candidate, Mahoney is perhaps most famous as the Democratic no ...

. Afterwards, he resumed the practice of law in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Family

Sasscer's family has lived in Upper Marlboro since the 1760s. Sasscer married Agnes Goffren in 1919 and had three children, Agnes Lansdale "Dolly" Sasscer, Lucy Claggett Sasscer and Lansdale Ghiselin Sasscer, Jr. Sasscer was a resident of Upper Marlboro until his death there in 1964. He is interred in Trinity Episcopal Church Cemetery in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

References

External links

Retrieved on 2008-02-10
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasscer, Lansdale Ghiselin 1893 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American politicians United States Army personnel of World War I Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Dickinson School of Law alumni Maryland lawyers Democratic Party Maryland state senators Military personnel from Maryland People from Upper Marlboro, Maryland Presidents of the Maryland State Senate United States Army officers 20th-century American lawyers