Robert Luce (December 2, 1862 – April 7, 1946) was a
United States 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 ...
from
.
Biography
Born in
Auburn, Maine
Auburn is a city in south-central Maine within the United States. The city serves as the county seat of Androscoggin County. The population was 24,061 at the 2020 census. Auburn and its sister city Lewiston are known locally as the Twin Cities ...
, Luce attended the public schools of Auburn and
Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...
, and
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...
. He graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1882, then taught at
Waltham High School for a year.
He engaged in journalism, founding and serving as president of the
Luce's Press Clipping Bureau in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He was elected a member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
in 1899 and 1901–1908. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, but did not engage in extensive practice. He served as president of the Republican State Convention in 1910. He was elected
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 ...
in 1912. He was a member of the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement Board. He was a delegate to the State constitutional convention 1917–1919, and served as president of the Republican Club of Massachusetts in 1918. He was Regent of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, and was an author, notably on the subject of political science.
Luce was elected as 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 ...
to the
Sixty-sixth and the seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1919 – January 3, 1935). He served as chairman of the Committee on Elections No. 2 (
Sixty-seventh Congress
The 67th 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, 192 ...
), and the Committee on World War Veterans’ Legislation (
Sixty-eighth Congress
The 68th 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, 1923, ...
). Along with Senator
Henrik Shipstead
Henrik Shipstead (January 8, 1881June 26, 1960) was an American politician. He served in the United States Senate from 1923 to 1947, from the state of Minnesota. He served first as a member of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party from 1923 to 1941 and ...
of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, he introduced the bill that became the
Shipstead-Luce Act, which expanded the oversight of the
United States Commission of Fine Arts
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the U ...
to review of new structures on private property abutting federal land.
Luce was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1934 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, ...
, but was elected to the
Seventy-fifth and
Seventy-sixth Congresses (January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1941). He was again an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1940 to the
Seventy-seventh Congress. Luce resumed his former business pursuits, and died in
Waltham on April 7, 1946. He was interred in
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...
in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
.
For many years Luce owned the
Walter S. and Melissa E. Barnes House in Somerville.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luce, Robert
1862 births
1946 deaths
Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Politicians from Somerville, Massachusetts
Harvard University alumni
Members of the 1917 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention
Lieutenant Governors of Massachusetts
Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery
Politicians from Auburn, Maine
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts