Robert Dick Douglas Explained

Parents:Robert M. Douglas
Jessie Madeline Dick
Party:Republican
Order:34th
Office:Attorney General of North Carolina
Predecessor:Zeb V. Walser
Successor:Robert D. Gilmer
Term Start:1900
Term End:1901
Alma Mater:Georgetown University
Governor:Daniel L. Russell
Birth Date:7 April 1875
Relations:Stephen A. Douglas (grandfather)
Robert P. Dick (grandfather)
Birth Place:Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Death Place:High Point, North Carolina, U.S.
Children:5

Robert Dick Douglas Sr. (April 7, 1875 – January 1, 1960) was a North Carolina attorney who served as North Carolina Attorney General briefly from 1900 to 1901. He is believed to be the youngest attorney general in the state's history.

Early life and education

Douglas was born on April 7, 1875, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Robert was the first son and second child of Robert M. Douglas and Jessie Madeline Dick. He was a grandson of Sen. Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and of Robert P. Dick, a North Carolina state Supreme Court justice. Douglas graduated from Georgetown University and "read the law" under his grandfather Dick.

Career

At the age of 25, Douglas was appointed by Gov. Daniel L. Russell to serve out the remainder of Attorney General Zeb V. Walser's term. At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest person to ever serve as North Carolina Attorney General and the youngest person serving as a state attorney general in the country.[1] After that he built a practice of law in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he also served as postmaster from 1906 to 1916.[2]

In 1932, Douglas gave or sold his grandfather Stephen A. Douglas's papers to the University of Chicago.[3]

Personal life

He married his wife, Virginia Land Brown, on April 14, 1909.[4] They had five children: two sons and three daughters. He died on January 1, 1960, in High Point, North Carolina.

Sources

Notes and References

  1. News: Robert Dick Douglas.. Greensboro Telegram. 4. VIII. 64. April 20, 1901.
  2. Web site: Robert Dick Douglas . 2024-08-08 . imtfe.law.virginia.edu . en.
  3. https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/excat/douglasint.html Stephen A. Douglas and the American Union
  4. Web site: Robert Dick Douglas Sr . 2024-08-08 . ancestors.familysearch.org.