Irvine Luther Lenroot (January 31, 1869 – January 26, 1949) was an American attorney, jurist, and Republican Party politician from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He served as Speaker of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

from 1903 to 1907 and represented the state in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

from 1909 to 1927, first in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

until 1918, and then in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. After he lost the Republican nomination in 1926,

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

nominated him to the

United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals The United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA) was a United States federal court which existed from 1909 to 1982 and had jurisdiction over certain types of civil disputes. History The CCPA began as the United States Court of Custom ...

Education and career

Born on January 31, 1869, in Superior,

, Lenroot attended the common schools, then attended Parsons Business College in

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

in 1897. He was a logger and reporter for the Douglas County, Wisconsin Superior Court from 1893 to 1906. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Superior in 1898. He was a member of the

from 1901 to 1907, serving as Speaker from 1903 to 1907.

Congressional service

Lenroot was elected as a Republican from the 11th congressional district to the

of the

61st United States Congress The 61st 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, D.C., from March 4, 1909, ...

and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1909, until April 17, 1918, when he resigned, having been elected Senator. He was elected as a Republican to the

on April 2, 1918, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Paul O. Husting. He was reelected in 1920 and served from April 18, 1918, to March 3, 1927. Lenroot was a close ally of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover, and favored raising federal reserve rates in 1936.He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1926. He was Chairman of the Committee on Railroads in the

66th United States Congress The 66th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1919, to ...

, Committee on Public Lands and Surveys in the

68th United States Congress The 68th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 192 ...

and the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds in the

69th United States Congress The 69th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1925, ...

. He resumed the practice of law in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

from 1927 to 1929.

1920 Republican Convention

Lenroot attended the

1920 Republican National Convention The 1920 Republican National Convention nominated Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding for president and Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge for vice president. The convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago Coliseum from June 8 ...

at the

Chicago Coliseum Chicago Coliseum was the name applied to three large indoor arenas, which stood at various times in Chicago, Illinois, from the 1860s to 1982. They served as venues for large national conventions, exhibition halls, sports events, and entertai ...

, and after the selection of

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

as the nominee for president, party leaders decided that the progressive Lenroot would be a balance to a ticket with the more conservative Harding. By Saturday night, June 12, many of the delegates had gone home, along with most of the party bosses. After Lenroot's name had been placed in nomination and seconded but before a vote could be taken, an

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

delegate,

Wallace McCamant Wallace McCamant (September 22, 1867 – December 17, 1944) was an American jurist in Oregon. A Pennsylvania native, he served as the 46th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 1917 to 1918. Later he served briefly as a United States circuit j ...

, nominated

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

for vice president. Unfettered by party bosses, the delegates weighed in for Coolidge, who received 674 votes to Lenroot's 146 and won on the first ballot.

Federal judicial service

Lenroot was nominated by President

on April 22, 1929, to an Associate Judge seat on the

vacated by Associate Judge

Orion M. Barber Orion Metcalf Barber (July 13, 1857 – March 28, 1930), frequently known as O. M. Barber, was a Vermont state politician and an United States federal judge, associate judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. Education and ...

. He was confirmed by the

on May 17, 1929, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on April 30, 1944, due to his retirement. He died on January 26, 1949, in Washington, D.C. He was interred in Greenwood Cemetery in Superior. The Associated Press report of his death began, "Former Senator Irvine L. Lenroot of Wisconsin, the man who might have been the 30th President of the United States, died Wednesday night."

Personal life

Lenroot married Clara Clough of Superior, who wrote a short memoir of her girlhood in Wisconsin in the 1860s and 1870s. His daughter,

Katherine Lenroot Katharine Fredrica Lenroot (March 8, 1891 – February 10, 1982), an American feminist and child welfare advocate, was the third Chief of the United States Children's Bureau. Biography Katharine F. Lenroot was born in Superior, Wisconsin on Ma ...

, was known for successfully lobbying for the

Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and " time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppre ...

and the enforcing of child labor laws. Lenroot was born to Lars Lönnrot (Lenroot), a Swedish immigrant and farmer for whom Lenroot's Addition in the Smithville area of Duluth, Minnesota, is named.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenroot, Irvine 1869 births 1949 deaths Judges of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Superior, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Republican Party United States senators from Wisconsin Speakers of the Wisconsin State Assembly United States Article I federal judges appointed by Herbert Hoover 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives