Clarence Dill

Clarence Cleveland Dill
United States Senator from Washington
In office March 4, 1923 – January 3, 1935
Preceded by	Miles Poindexter
Succeeded by	Lewis B. Schwellenbach
Personal details
Born	September 21, 1884(1884-09-21) Fredericktown, Ohio
Died	January 14, 1978(1978-01-14) (aged 93) Spokane, Washington
Political party	Democratic

Clarence Cleveland Dill (September 21, 1884 – January 14, 1978) was an American politician from the state of Washington. He was a Democrat.

Dill was born in Knox County, Ohio. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi.^[1]

As a young man he was a teacher, and moved to Spokane, Washington in 1908. He became a lawyer in 1910, and soon entered politics. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives for two terms, from 1915 to 1919, and was defeated for reelection. He was a member of the United States Senate from Washington for two terms, from 1923 to 1935 and did not run for reelection. In the Senate, Dill was the chief sponsor of both the 1927 Radio Act and the 1934 Communications Act. In 1936, Dill sought a divorce from his wife, the feminist suffragist Rosalie Gardiner Jones; Dill claimed that Jones told his friends that he was "a political coward" for not seeking re-election in 1934, and that she buried dogs and garbage in the backyard.^[2] He ran for governor of Washington in 1940 but was defeated by Republican Arthur B. Langlie. His last attempt at elective office was in 1942 when he ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Dill then served as a member of the Columbia Basin Commission from 1945 to 1948, and as a special assistant to the United States Attorney General from 1946 to 1953. In between all of these jobs, he usually practiced law. He died in Spokane. He was the last living Senator from before the Great Depression.

Electoral history

• 1914 Congress 5
  • C C Dill (D), 24,410
  • Harry Rosenhaupt (R), 20,063
  • Thomas Corkery (Prog), 15,509
  • J O Harkness (S), 4,502
  • F H Flanders (Proh), 2,270
• 1916 Congress 5
  • C C Dill (D), 37,479
  • Thomas Corkery (R), 32,298
  • John M Powers (S), 2,952
• 1918 Congress 5
  • Stanley Webster (R), 22426
  • C C Dill (D), 20,061
  • Peter Harrison (S), 473
• 1922 US Senate
  • C C Clarence Dill (D), 130,375
  • Miles Poindexter (R), 126,556
  • James Duncan (FL), 35,352
  • David Burgess (SL), 1,905
  • Frans Bostrom (Com), 489
• 1928 US Senate
  • C C Clarence Dill (D), 261,524
  • Kenneth Mackintosh (R), 227,415
  • Alex Noral (Com), 666
• 1940 Governor
  • Arthur B. Langlie (R), 392,522
  • C C Dill (D), 386,706
  • John Brockway (Com), 1,674
  • P J Ater (SL), 426
• 1942 Congress 5
  • Walt Horan (R), 29,380
  • C C Dill (D), 18,766

References

1. ^ Grand Catalogue of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity: February 1, 1910, page 124
2. ^ Time, "Milestones," April 13, 1936

External links

• http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000345

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Jacob Falconer	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 5th congressional district 1915–1919	Succeeded by J. Stanley Webster
United States Senate
Preceded by Miles Poindexter	United States Senator (Class 1) from Washington 1923–1935 Served alongside: Wesley Jones, Elijah Grammer, Homer Bone	Succeeded by Lewis Schwellenbach
Honorary titles
Preceded by John Heiskell	Most Senior Living U.S. Senator (Sitting or Former) December 28, 1972 - January 14, 1978	Succeeded by F. Ryan Duffy

Persondata
Name	Dill, Clarence
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	September 21, 1884
Place of birth	Fredericktown, Ohio
Date of death	January 14, 1978
Place of death	Spokane, Washington