Charles Henry BURKE, Congress, SD (1861-1944)

BURKE, Charles Henry, a Representative from South Dakota; born on a farm near Batavia, Genesee County, N.Y., April 1, 1861; attended the public schools of Batavia, N.Y.; moved to the Territory of Dakota in 1882 and settled on a homestead in Beadle County; moved to Hughes County in 1883; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1886; engaged in the real estate investment business in Pierre, S.Dak.; member of the State house of representatives in 1895 and 1897; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-sixth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1899-March 3, 1907); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1906 to the Sixtieth Congress; elected to the Sixty-first, Sixty-second, and Sixty-third Congresses (March 4, 1909-March 3, 1915); chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs (Sixty-first Congress); minority whip (Sixty-third Congress); did not seek renomination in 1914 having received the Republican nomination for United States Senator, but was unsuccessful for election; resumed the investment business; appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D.C., on April 1, 1921, and served until his resignation on June 30, 1929; engaged in the real estate and loan business in Pierre S. Dak., and also worked in the interest of Indians in Washington, D.C.; died in Washington, D.C., April 7, 1944; interment in Riverside Cemetery, Pierre, S.Dak.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present