Hugh Anderson Dinsmore (December 24, 1850 – May 2, 1930) was an American lawyer and politician who served six terms as and 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

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

from 1893 to 1905. He was a vocal opponent of the

Annexation of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is ...

Biography

Born at

Cave Springs, Arkansas Cave Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas. The population was 5,495 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 1,729 in 2010 census. It is part of the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area. In June 2022, Cave Springs was named the 3rd high ...

, Dinsmore was the son of Alexander Winchester and Catherine Anderson Dinsmore. He attended private schools in Benton and Washington Counties. He married Elizabeth Le Grand Fisher of St. Louis, Missouri, on May 25, 1883. They had one son, Hamilton; and though Elizabeth died on June 19, 1886, he never remarried.

Early career

Dinsmore worked as a store clerk and later a traveling salesman for a St. Louis firm. Deciding to become a lawyer, he persuaded Samuel N. Elliott of Bentonville to proctor him. In 1872 Governor Elisha Baxter appointed him the eleventh Benton County Circuit Court clerk. He resigned in 1874, when he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, and the following year, he moved to Fayetteville, where he entered into a law partnership with David Walker. In 1878, he was elected prosecuting attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, and served until 1884.

Political career

In January 1887, Dinsmore was appointed by President Cleveland as Minister Resident and consul general to the Kingdom of Korea and served until May 25, 1890. Because of his acquaintance with Korea and Korean matters, he was sought out by a young

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

in January 1905, while he was on his diplomatic mission United States to secure aid for Korea against Japanese annexation. Dinsmore succeeded in getting Rhee a brief meeting with Secretary of State

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was Un ...

, but Rhee's mission would ultimately end in failure.

Congress

After he resumed the practice of law in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until ...

, Dinsmore was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Fifty-third and to the five succeeding Congresses. He served from March 4, 1893 to March 3, 1905. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1904 to the Fifty-ninth Congress. Congressman Dinsmore

Later career

He resumed the practice of law in

, and in later years devoted most of his time to the management of his farming interests. He served as member of the board of trustees of the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

Death

Dinsmore died in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 2, 1930 (age 79 years, 129 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Evergreen Cemetery,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinsmore, Hugh Anderson 1850 births 1930 deaths People from Cave Springs, Arkansas American people of Scotch-Irish descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas Ambassadors of the United States to Korea