Richard Smith WHALEY, Congress, SC (1874-1951)

WHALEY, Richard Smith, a Representative from South Carolina; born in Charleston, S.C., July 15, 1874; attended the Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va., and was graduated from the law department of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1897; was admitted to the bar in 1897 and commenced practice in Charleston, S.C.; member of the State house of representatives 1901-1910, 1913; served as speaker 1907-1910 and as speaker pro tempore in 1913; presiding officer of the Democratic State convention in 1910 and of the Democratic city convention in 1911; delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1912 and 1920; elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George S. Legare; reelected to the Sixty-fourth, Sixty-fifth, and Sixty-sixth Congresses and served from April 29, 1913, to March 3, 1921; was not a candidate for renomination in 1920; resumed the practice of law; appointed commissioner of the United States Court of Claims in 1925; appointed judge of the Court of Claims by President Hoover in 1930, and was designated chief justice in 1939; retired as chief justice in 1947; died in Charleston, S.C., November 8, 1951; interment in Magnolia Cemetery.

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