Lewis Baxter SCHWELLENBACH, Congress, WA (1894-1948)

SCHWELLENBACH, Lewis Baxter, a Senator from Washington; born in Superior, Douglas County, Wis., September 20, 1894; moved to Spokane, Wash., with his parents in 1902; attended the elementary and high schools in Spokane and graduated from the law department of the University of Washington at Seattle in 1917; assistant instructor at the University of Washington 1916-1917; during the First World War served from 1918, as a private in the Twelfth Regiment, United States Infantry, until discharged as a corporal in 1919; admitted to the bar in 1919 and commenced practice in Seattle, Wash.; unsuccessful candidate for nomination for governor in 1932; delegate to the Interparliamentary Union at The Hague in 1938; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from January 3, 1935, to December 16, 1940, when he resigned; was not a candidate for renomination in 1940, having been appointed United States district judge for the eastern district of Washington, in which capacity he served until his resignation to become Secretary of Labor; appointed Secretary of Labor by President Harry S. Truman and served from 1945 until his death in Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1948; interment in Washelli Cemetery, Seattle, Wash.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Libby, Justin H. “Anti-Japanese Sentiment in the Pacific Northwest: Senator Schwellenbach and Congressman Coffee Attempt to Embargo Japan, 1937-1941.” Mid-America 58 (October 1976): 167-74.

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