Charles Curtis

Charles Curtis was born near Topeka, KS, in 1860. Of Native American ancestry (possibly as much as half), he lived on a Kaw Indian reservation for several years early in his life. In 1881 he was admitted to the state bar in Kansas, and was the Shawnee County District Attorney from 1885-89. He ran for Congress on the Republican ticket in 1893 and won, and served as a US Representative until 1907, when he ran for and won a seat in the US Senate. He served until 1913, when he was defeated in a re-election bid. However, he ran again in 1915 and won, and served until 1929, when he resigned to become Herbert Hoover's Vice Presidential candidate in the 1929 election, which they won. He served as Vice President until 1932, when he and Hoover lost their bid for re-election. Curtis stayed in Washington, DC, to practice law. He died there in 1936.