Thomas Francis Bayard Jr. (June 4, 1868 – July 12, 1942) was an American lawyer and politician from
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Delaware in the 1920s.
Early life
Bayard was born in Wilmington, Delaware, son of U.S. Senator
Thomas F. Bayard Sr. and grandson of U.S. Senator
James A. Bayard Jr.
James Asheton Bayard Jr. (November 15, 1799 – June 13, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as U.S. Senator from Delaware.
Early life
Bayard was born in Wilmington, ...
Bayard graduated from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1890, where he was a member of
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...
,
and served as secretary of his class. He attended
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
and was admitted to the
Delaware Bar in 1893.
Personal life
He married Elizabeth Bradford
du Pont on October 3, 1908. Together, they had five children:
*
Alexis I. du Pont Bayard
Alexis Irénée du Pont Bayard (February 11, 1918 – September 3, 1985) was an American lawyer and politician from Rockland, near Greenville, in New Castle County, Delaware. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 13th Lieutenant Go ...
(Feb. 10, 1918 in
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
- Sep. 2, 1985 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
) Graduate of
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, Politician and 13th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware. Married to Jane Buckley Hildreth (Nov. 14, 1916 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
- Dec. 12, 2008 in
Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...
) in 1944. He died following heart surgery.
* Elizabeth
* Ellen
* James
* Thomas Francis Bayard III (Oct. 12, 1902 in
Greenville, Delaware
Greenville is a bedroom community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, and a suburb of Wilmington. The population was 2,326 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Greenville as a census ...
- Dec. 17, 1983 in
Middleburg, Virginia
Middleburg is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 673 as of the 2010 census. It is the southernmost town along Loudoun County's shared border with Fauquier County.
Middleburg is known as the "Nation's Horse ...
) Graduate of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, Executive at the DuPont Company. Married to Ruth Broadbent Castor (Mar. 27, 1906 - Jun. 21, 1994) in 1928 in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, divorced in 1944.
Career
After living in New York City for four years and working as assistant corporation counsel, he returned to his Delaware law practice in 1901. He served as a chairman of the Delaware Democratic Party's state committee from 1906 to 1916, and as solicitor for the city of Wilmington from 1917 until 1919.
Bayard was elected to the U.S. Senate in a special election on November 7, 1922, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. Senator
Josiah O. Wolcott. On the same day, he was also elected for the full term to follow, in both instances defeating incumbent Republican U.S. Senator
T. Coleman du Pont (a cousin of Bayard's wife), who had been appointed. During this term, he served in the Democratic minority in the last session of the 67th Congress, and in the 68th, 69th, and 70th Congress.
Bayard lost his bid for a second full term in 1928 to Republican
John G. Townsend Jr., the former governor. He then lost another bid for a second full term in 1930 to incumbent Republican U.S. Senator
Daniel O. Hastings. In all, Bayard served one term and part of another, from November 7, 1922, to March 3, 1929, during the administrations of U.S. presidents
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
and
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
. Subsequently, he resumed his law practice in Wilmington.
Death and legacy
Bayard died at Wilmington and is buried there in the
Old Swedes Episcopal Church Cemetery. His son,
Alexis I. du Pont Bayard
Alexis Irénée du Pont Bayard (February 11, 1918 – September 3, 1985) was an American lawyer and politician from Rockland, near Greenville, in New Castle County, Delaware. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 13th Lieutenant Go ...
, served as Lieutenant Governor of Delaware from 1949 to 1953.
He is the namesake of the town of
Bayard, West Virginia.
References
References
*
*
External links
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayard, Thomas F. Jr.
1868 births
1942 deaths
Du Pont family
Thomas F. Jr.
American Episcopalians
People from Wilmington, Delaware
Yale Law School alumni
Delaware lawyers
Delaware Democrats
Democratic Party United States senators from Delaware
Burials in New Castle County, Delaware