William Aubrey Thomas (June 7, 1866September 8, 1951) was an American scientist and politician who served as a

US 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

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

from 1904 to 1911.

Biography

Born in Y Bynea, near

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, Thomas immigrated to the United States in 1868 with his parents, who settled in

Niles, Ohio Niles is a city in southern Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, situated at the confluence of the Mahoning River and Mosquito Creek. The city's population was 18,443 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan a ...

. He attended the public schools of Niles,

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduate ...

, and

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

, where he majored in metallurgical chemistry. He was an analytical chemist in Niles from 1886 to 1888 and was engaged in the iron and steel business. He served as president of

The Mahoning Valley Steel Company The Mahoning Valley Steel Company was formally organized on July 12, 1916, with a capital investment of $600,000. The original officers were Jacob D. Waddell, president; T. E. Thomas, vice president and treasurer; W. Aubrey Thomas, secretary; direct ...

and as secretary and director of the

Niles Firebrick Niles Firebrick was manufactured by the Niles Fire brick Company since it was created in 1872 by John Rhys Thomas until the company was sold in 1953 and completely shutdown in 1960. Capital to establish the company was provided by Lizzie B. Ward to ...

Co. Thomas 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 Fifty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Charles W. F. Dick Charles William Frederick Dick (November 3, 1858 – March 13, 1945) was a Republican politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Early life Born in Akron, Ohio, his parents were Gottlieb Di ...

on this election to the Senate. He was reelected to the Fifty-ninth, Sixtieth, and Sixty-first Congresses and served from November 8, 1904, to March 3, 1911. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1910 to the Sixty-second Congress. He moved to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in 1918 and continued his interest in the manufacture of iron, steel, and firebrick. He served as president of the Jenifer Iron Co. He died in

Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...

, on September 8, 1951, aged 85. He was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

. Thomas became a

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

in 1887, and was the youngest Master in Ohio when he led his lodge for two terms. He became a member of the

Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

in 1892 and was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, W. Aubrey 1866 births 1951 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople American metallurgists People from Niles, Ohio Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Welsh emigrants to the United States University of Mount Union alumni People from Talladega, Alabama Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio