Benjamin Kurtz Focht (March 12, 1863 – March 27, 1937) was 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 ...

member of the

U.S. House of Representatives 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

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Biography

Benjamin K. Focht was born in

New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania New Bloomfield is a borough in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. The population was 1,244 at the 2020 census. History New Bloomfield was lai ...

. He attended

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,1 ...

Pennsylvania State College The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...

, and Susquehanna University in

Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania Selinsgrove is the largest borough in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population is estimated to be 5,761 for the 2020 Census. Selinsgrove is geographically located in the middle of the Susquehanna River Valley in Central Penns ...

. He established the ''Lewisburg Saturday News'' in 1881, serving as editor and publisher until his death. He was a delegate to the Republican State Convention in 1889. He served as an officer of the

Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 pe ...

. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1893 to 1897, and a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1901 to 1905. He was water supply commissioner of Pennsylvania from 1912 to 1914. Focht was elected as a Republican to the Sixtieth, Sixty-first, and Sixty-second Congresses. He was unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912. He was again elected to the Sixty-fourth and to the three succeeding Congresses. He served as Chairman of the United States House Committee on War Claims during the Sixty-sixth Congress, and the

United States House Committee on the District of Columbia The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...

during the Sixty-seventh Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, and 1930, and also in 1932 for the unexpired term of

Edward M. Beers Edward McMath Beers (May 27, 1877 – April 21, 1932) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Edward M. Beers was born in Nossville, Tell Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania on May 27, 1877. In 1895, ...

. After his time in Congress he resumed business activities in Lewisburg. He served as deputy secretary of the Commonwealth in 1928 and 1929. Focht was again elected to the Seventy-third, Seventy-fourth, and Seventy-fifth Congresses and served until his death in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Sources

The Political Graveyard
Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives American newspaper editors Bucknell University alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni 1863 births 1937 deaths American newspaper publishers (people) Susquehanna University alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from Perry County, Pennsylvania Journalists from Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub

Biography

See also

Sources