Dean Milton Gillespie (May 3, 1884 – February 2, 1949) was a

U.S. 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

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Early life and education

Born in

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in, and the county seat of, Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1 ...

, the youngest son of Dr. D. M. Gillespie and Mrs. D. M. Gillespie of Blaine Township, Clay County, Kansas. His father has been a pioneer of Kansas and was a physician. He also published a temperance newspaper entitled, ''The Rising Sun''. Gillespie attended the public schools and

Salina Normal University Salina Normal University, sometimes called Salina Normal College, was an independent coeducational normal school established in 1884 in Salina, Kansas, United States. It offered collegiate, normal, business, science, and fine arts courses. The ...

. He engaged in agricultural pursuits and cattle raising in

Clay County, Kansas Clay County (county code CY) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 8,117. Its county seat and most populous city is Clay Center. History Early history For many millennia, the Great ...

, from 1900 to 1904.

Career

He moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, in 1905 and worked as grocery clerk, sign painter, and salesman. He engaged in the automobile and oil business since 1905. Gillespie founded Power Equipment Company and incorporated under the corporate laws of Colorado on September 14, 1936. Operations were initially conducted through two affiliated corporations, Power Equipment Co. and Dean Gillespie & Co., which firms controlled the franchises for Allis-Chalmers Construction Equipment and White Motor trucks. Gillespie 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

78th Congress The 78th 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, 1943, ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lawrence Lewis, reelected to the

79th Congress The 79th 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, 1945, ...

, and served from March 7, 1944, to January 3, 1947. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1946 to the

80th Congress The 80th 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, 194 ...

. He then returned to his former business pursuits. He was president of Dean Gillespie & Company, president of Motoroyal Oil Company, and vice president of BluHill Food Corporation. He was an Elk, Mason, Shriner and a member of a number organizations.

Personal life

He married Lillie Baldwin on January 29, 1908, in

Golden, Colorado Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States Census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountai ...

. They had two daughters. One of his daughters, Ruth Gillespie, was an attorney in Denver. Lillie died in 1941. He had the world's largest collection of meteorites and often gave talks about meteorites. He checked himself into Johns Hopkins Hospital while on a business trip and died of a heart attack on February 2, 1949, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He was interred in Fairmount Cemetery,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Dean Milton 1884 births 1949 deaths Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado 20th-century American politicians