| Robert Crosser | |
| Image Name: | Robert Crosser cph.3b03511.jpg |
| State: | Ohio |
| Constituency: | At Large (1913-1915) 21st district (1915-1919) |
| Term Start: | March 4, 1913 |
| Term End: | March 3, 1919 |
| Preceded: | inactive |
| Succeeded: | John J. Babka |
| Constituency3: | 21st district |
| Term Start3: | March 4, 1923 |
| Term End3: | January 3, 1955 |
| Preceded3: | Harry C. Gahn |
| Succeeded3: | Charles Vanik |
| State House4: | Ohio |
| District4: | Cuyahoga County |
| Term Start4: | January 2, 1911 |
| Term End4: | January 5, 1913 |
| Predecessor4: | 11 others |
| Successor4: | 13 others |
| Alongside4: | 9 others |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Birth Date: | 7 June 1874 |
| Birth Place: | Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Death Place: | Bethesda, Maryland |
| Spouse: | Isabelle Dargarvel Hogg |
| Restingplace: | Highland Park Cemetery, Warrensville Heights, Ohio |
Robert Crosser (June 7, 1874 – June 3, 1957) was an American lawyer and politician who served 19 terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio. He remains the longest-serving member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Ohio, serving from 1911 to 1919, then again from 1923 until 1955.
Born in Holytown, Lanarkshire, Scotland, Crosser emigrated to the United States in 1881 with his parents and settled in Cleveland, Ohio.He moved to Salineville, Ohio, the same year and attended the public schools.He graduated from Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, in 1897.He studied law at Columbia Law School in New York City and graduated from Cincinnati Law School in 1901.He was admitted to the bar in 1901 and commenced practice in Cleveland, Ohio.He taught law at Baldwin-Wallace Law School in 1904 and 1905.He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1911 and 1912.He served as member of the fourth constitutional convention in 1912. At the convention, he was the author of the Initiative and referendum amendment adopted by the voters in 1912.
Robert Crosser was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-third, Sixty-fourth, and Sixty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1919).He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce (Sixty-fifth Congress).He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1918 and for election in 1920.
Crosser was elected to the Sixty-eighth and to the fifteen succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1923 – January 3, 1955).He served as chairman of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Eighty-first and Eighty-second Congresses).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1954. In that race, he was defeated in the primary by Charles Vanik in a field of candidates that also included African-American challenger John Holly, founder of the Negro Future Outlook League.[1] [2]
He resided in Bethesda, Maryland, until his death there on June 3, 1957.He was interred in Highland Park Cemetery, Warrensville, Ohio.
Robert Crosser was married to Isabelle Dargarvel Hogg.[3]
Crosser was a member of Phi Delta Phi.[3]
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Robert Crosser: 100,340 | Lawrence O. Payne: 45,896 | ||
| 1950 | Robert Crosser: 66,341 | William Hodge 21,588 | ||
| 1948 | Robert Crosser: 72,417 | Harry W. Mitchell: 22,932 | ||
| 1946 | Robert Crosser: 49,111 | James S. Hudee: 27,657 | ||
| 1944 | Robert Crosser: 77,525 | Harry C. Gahn 22,288 | ||
| 1942 | Robert Crosser: 35,109 | William J. Rogers 19,137 | Arnold S. Johnson: 744 | |
| 1940 | Robert Crosser: 79,602 | J. E. Chizek: 23,658 | ||
| 1938 | Robert Crosser: 53,180 | J. E. Chizek: 24,240 | ||
| 1936 | Robert Crosser: 70,596 | Harry C. Gahn 23,811 | ||
| 1934 | Robert Crosser: 47,540 | Frank W. Sotak: 25,253 | E. C. Greenfield (C): 1,684 | |
| 1932 | Robert Crosser: 49,436 | Gerard Pilliod: 25,527 | Joseph Schiffer (C): 672 Eugene F. Cheeks: 204 | |
| 1930 | Robert Crosser: 30,722 | George H. Bender 29,081 | Gustave F. Ebding: 96 | |
| 1928 | Robert Crosser: 39,090 | Joseph F. Lange: 26,267 | ||
| 1926 | Robert Crosser: 17,819 | Harry C. Gahn 10,733 | ||
| 1924 | Robert Crosser: 24,889 | Harry C. Gahn 21,629 | John Brahtin (W): 272 | |
| 1922 | Robert Crosser: 18,645 | Harry C. Gahn 14,024 | Henry Kuhlman (S): 997 Frank Kalcec (SL): 185 |