US Congressman, US Senator. George William Norris was a Nebraskan politician, who is considered by many as one of the "greatest United States Senators." He was one of eight senators mentioned in President John F. Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage," and in 1955, his portrait was selected as one of the five former members to be permanently displayed in the Senate Reception Room. Between the United States House of Representatives and the Senate, he served forty years representing the State of Nebraska. He was a member of the Republican Party but changed to an Independent by 1936 and at the age of 81, was not re-elected in 1942. Coming from humble beginnings, he was one of eleven children of a farmer in Ohio. He attended Baldwin University in Berea and taught school while studying law. He graduated from the law department of Valparaiso University in Indiana in 1883, was admitted to the bar, moved to Beaver City, Nebraska in 1885 and engaged in the practice of law. He was Attorney of Furnas County for three terms and district judge of the fourteenth district, from 1895 to 1902. In 1903, he was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-eighth Congress and to the next four succeeding Congresses, serving until 1913. He was then elected to the United States Senate, serving from 1913 to 1943. Charles Silcott Ryckman of the "Fremont Tribune" published his editorial explaining satirically the reasons that Nebraska continued to send Norris to Washington D.C., which was entitled "The Gentleman from Nebraska." For this editorial, Ryckman gained the 1931 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism in the category of editorial writing. During his terms in office, he was chairman for the Committee on the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians, Committee on Patents, Committee on the Judiciary, and Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Some of his politic accomplishments include the 1932 Norris-La Guardia Act, which strengthened organized labor's collective bargaining hand; having a campaign that resulted in Nebraska having the nation's only unicameral state legislature; and, creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933. He married in 1889, had three daughters, and as a widower, remarried in 1903. In his hometown of McCook, a street was named in his honor, and his home, which is on the National Register of Historical Places, is a museum managed by the Nebraska State Historical Society.
US Congressman, US Senator. George William Norris was a Nebraskan politician, who is considered by many as one of the "greatest United States Senators." He was one of eight senators mentioned in President John F. Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage," and in 1955, his portrait was selected as one of the five former members to be permanently displayed in the Senate Reception Room. Between the United States House of Representatives and the Senate, he served forty years representing the State of Nebraska. He was a member of the Republican Party but changed to an Independent by 1936 and at the age of 81, was not re-elected in 1942. Coming from humble beginnings, he was one of eleven children of a farmer in Ohio. He attended Baldwin University in Berea and taught school while studying law. He graduated from the law department of Valparaiso University in Indiana in 1883, was admitted to the bar, moved to Beaver City, Nebraska in 1885 and engaged in the practice of law. He was Attorney of Furnas County for three terms and district judge of the fourteenth district, from 1895 to 1902. In 1903, he was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-eighth Congress and to the next four succeeding Congresses, serving until 1913. He was then elected to the United States Senate, serving from 1913 to 1943. Charles Silcott Ryckman of the "Fremont Tribune" published his editorial explaining satirically the reasons that Nebraska continued to send Norris to Washington D.C., which was entitled "The Gentleman from Nebraska." For this editorial, Ryckman gained the 1931 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism in the category of editorial writing. During his terms in office, he was chairman for the Committee on the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians, Committee on Patents, Committee on the Judiciary, and Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Some of his politic accomplishments include the 1932 Norris-La Guardia Act, which strengthened organized labor's collective bargaining hand; having a campaign that resulted in Nebraska having the nation's only unicameral state legislature; and, creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933. He married in 1889, had three daughters, and as a widower, remarried in 1903. In his hometown of McCook, a street was named in his honor, and his home, which is on the National Register of Historical Places, is a museum managed by the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Bio by: Linda Davis
Family Members
Parents
Advertisement
