George H. Tinkham Explained

George Holden Tinkham
Image Name:G. H. Tinkham ggbain.29405 - retouched.jpg
Caption:Tinkham circa 1918
Office1:Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts
Term Start1:March 4, 1915
Term End1:January 3, 1943
Predecessor1:Andrew James Peters
Successor1:Christian Herter
Constituency1:11th district (1915–1933)
10th district (1933–1943)
Office2:Member of the Massachusetts State Senate
Term2:1910–1912
Office3:Boston Alderman
Term3:1900–1902
Office4:Member of the Boston Common Council
Term4:1897–1898
Birth Date:October 29, 1870
Birth Place:Boston, Massachusetts
Death Date:August 28, 1956 (aged 85)
Restingplace:Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, Massachusetts
Profession:Attorney
Party:Republican
Battles:World War I

George Holden Tinkham (October 29, 1870  - August 28, 1956) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Massachusetts.

Early years

Tinkham was born October 29, 1870, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Frances Ann Holden and George Henry Tinkham, a produce dealer. He graduated from Harvard College in 1894.

Career

Tinkham served as a member of the Boston Common Council in 1897 and 1898. After this first venture into politics he resumed his education at Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1899 and commenced practice in Boston. Tinkham returned to public office, serving as a member of the Boston Board of Aldermen from 1900 to 1902.[1]

Tinkham spent the next several years working as a lawyer. In 1910 he returned to public service, being elected as a member of the Massachusetts State Senate, where he served from 1910 to 1912.

During World War I, he served in the military; Tinkham would later tell Life magazine that while touring the front as a Congressman he fired the first American shot against the Austrians.

Tinkham was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-fourth Congress and to the thirteen succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1915 – January 3, 1943). During that time Tinkham was nicknamed "the conscience of the House" for his efforts to protect voting rights for African Americans, in part by highlighting of the South's disproportionate representation in the House related to that region's voting population.[2] In 1937, a California newspaper reported "Representative Tinkham of Massachusetts, on the other hand, is emphatic in the view that we are heading for an alliance with England, France and Russia against Germany, Italy and Japan and he favors playing a lone hand and attending strictly to our own business".[3]

Tinkham did not stand for renomination in 1942. He continued to practice law in Boston until his retirement; died in Cramerton, North Carolina, on August 28, 1956; interment in Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston.

In his spare time, he went on safaris in Kenya.

See also

Notes and References

  1. The Boston Common Council and the Boston Board of Aldermen were later combined into the Boston City Council, following a rewrite of Boston's city charter.
  2. Web site: Demands Inquiry on Disfranchising; Representative Tinkham Aims to Enforce 14th and 15th Articles of Constitution. . December 6, 1920 . The New York Times. 2012-12-08.
  3. News: 1937-10-22 . Rep. Tinkham . 2024-04-03 . The Tustin News . 2.