Ralph Waldo Emerson Gilbert (January 17, 1882 – July 30, 1939) was a

U.S. Representative 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 c ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, son of George Gilmore Gilbert. Born in

Taylorsville, Kentucky Taylorsville is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Spencer County, Kentucky, Spencer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the county seat of Spencer County. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, the city had a tot ...

, Gilbert attended the public schools and the

University of Virginia at Charlottesville The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective adm ...

. He was graduated from the law school of the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

in 1901. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year and commenced practice in

Shelbyville, Kentucky Shelbyville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Kentucky, Shelby County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 14,045 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Early hist ...

. Gilbert was elected judge of the Shelby County Court in 1910. He was reelected in 1914 and served until his resignation in 1917. Gilbert was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Sixty-seventh and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1929). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1928 to the Seventy-first Congress. He served as member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

in 1929. Gilbert was elected to the Seventy-second Congress (March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1932. He resumed the practice of law in

. He again served in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1933. Gilbert was elected a member of the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators. The Kentu ...

in 1936 and served until his death in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, July 30, 1939. He was interred in Grove Hill Cemetery,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Ralph Waldo Emerson 1882 births 1939 deaths Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky lawyers Kentucky state court judges Democratic Party Kentucky state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky People from Taylorsville, Kentucky People from Shelbyville, Kentucky 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers