Tasker Lowndes Oddie (October 20, 1870 – February 17, 1950) was an American attorney and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as the 12th Governor of Nevada and a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Biography

Oddie was born on October 20, 1870, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. He graduated from

New York University Law School New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

with an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1895 and practiced law in New York until 1898, when he moved to Nevada to become the attorney and business agent for the wealthy Stokes family. He joined the Nevada Bar in 1898.

Career

Oddie moved to and made his fortune in the 1900 silver boom in Tonopah, becoming manager of the Tonopah Mining Company. He was the Nye County District Attorney from 1900 to 1902. He was a member of the Nevada State Senate from 1903 to 1906. He served as governor between 1911 and 1915 (as he was not married at the time, his mother Ellen Oddie and his sisters acted as official hostesses). On March 17, 1911, he signed the city charter for

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. During his tenure, women got the right to vote, a state motor vehicle law was sanctioned, mining safety legislation was endorsed, and there were improvements to workmen's compensation benefits. He married Daisy Rendall on November 30, 1916. He was a senator from 1921 to 1933, losing his bid for a third term to

Pat McCarran Patrick Anthony McCarran (August 8, 1876 – September 28, 1954) was an American farmer, attorney, judge, and Democratic politician who represented Nevada in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1954. McCarran was born in Reno, Nevada, atte ...

in 1932. Oddie won the Republican Senate nomination in 1938 but was defeated again by McCarran by a considerably wider margin than in 1932.

Death and legacy

Oddie died on February 17, 1950, in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

at the age of 79. He is interred at Lone Mountain Cemetery,

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

. Mount Oddie near Tonopah is named after him, as is Oddie Boulevard in

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

and Sparks.

References

External links

* * * Loren Chan, ''Sagebrush Statesman: Tasker L. Oddie of Nevada'' (University of Nevada Press, Reno, 1973)
National Governors AssociationNevada State Library and ArchivesA Guide to the Tasker L. Oddie Scrapbooks and Correspondence, NC585
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oddie, Tasker 1870 births 1950 deaths Republican Party governors of Nevada Republican Party United States senators from Nevada District attorneys in Nevada American Episcopalians New York University School of Law alumni Politicians from Brooklyn Lawyers from Brooklyn People from Tonopah, Nevada