Horace M. Towner: Difference between revisions

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			{{short description\|American politician and governor of Puerto Rico}}
	'''Horace Mann Towner''' (]–]) was a ] ] from ] from ] until ], when ] ] appointed him ], a post he held until 1929. Towner also served as a county superintendent of schools, a judge, and a lecturer on constitutional law in Iowa. During his congressional service, Towner was chairman for four years of the Committee on Insular Affairs of the ].
			{{Infobox officeholder
			\| name = Horace Mann Towner
			\| image = TOWNER, HORACE M. HONORABLE.jpg
			\| office = ]
			\| term_start = April 1, 1923
			\| term_end = September 29, 1929
			\| president = ]<br />]
			\| predecessor = ] (acting)
			\| successor = ]
			\| state2 = Iowa
			\| district2 = ]
			\| term_start2 = March 4, 1911
			\| term_end2 = April 1, 1923
			\| preceded2 = ]
			\| succeeded2 = ]
			\| birth_date = {{birth date\|1855\|10\|23\|mf=y}}
			\| birth_place = ], U.S.
			\| death_date = {{death date and age\|1937\|11\|23\|1855\|10\|23\|mf=y}}
			\| death_place = ], U.S.
			\| party = ]
			\| spouse =
			\| religion =
			\| current occupation =
			\| footnotes =
			\| education = ] (])<br />] (])
			}}
			'''Horace Mann Towner''' (October 23, 1855 – November 23, 1937) was an American politician who served as a member of the ] from ] and appointed the ]. In an era in which the federal government's role in health and education was small, he was an early leader of efforts to expand that role.

			==Early life and education==
	{{Iowa-politician-stub}}
			Towner was born in ], the son of John and Keziah Towner. He was educated in the public schools at Belvidere, at the ], and at the ] (now the ]).

			== Career ==
	{{start box}}
			Towner was admitted to the bar in 1877, and initially practiced law in ], in ]. In 1880, he was elected county superintendent of schools at ], in which capacity he served until 1884. He resumed the practice of law in Corning. In 1887 he married Harriet Elizabeth Cole, at Corning. They had three children, Leta, Horace, and Constance.
	{{succession box\|title=]<br><small>8th District</small>\|before=]\|after=]\|years=1911-1923}}
	{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]<br><small>''(Acting)''</small>\|after=]<br><small>''(Acting)''</small>\|years=1923-1929}}
	{{end box}}

			In 1890, he was elected as a judge of the third judicial district of Iowa. He also served as a lecturer on constitutional law at the ] from 1902 to 1911.
	]

	]
			He was also a pianist and a composer, who set to music "Iowa, Beautiful Land", once Iowa's official song.<ref>"H.M. Towner Died Tuesday", ''Adams County Free Press'', 1937-11-25 at p. 1.</ref>
	]

	]
			===U.S. Congress===
	]
			In 1910 Towner ran successfully as a Republican to succeed retiring Democrat ] representing Iowa's 8th congressional district in the U.S. House. He was re-elected five times. From 1919 to 1923, he was served as the House ].

			He was the co-author (with Texas Senator ]) of the first federal law to offer matching federal funds for social welfare or to offer grants-in-aid to states for health purposes. That law, known as the ], was designed to lower the United States' relatively high rates of infant mortality, and established maternal and child health services in each state. First offered in 1919, it passed in 1921. Although the program it created was chronically underfunded after passage and was allowed to expire in 1929, it paved the way for many similar state-federal social welfare programs in the ] era and thereafter.<ref>Edward Schlesinger, , 57 ''American Journal of Public Health'' 1034 (1967).</ref>

			Towner was also the co-sponsor of the Towner-Sterling bill, which would have created a cabinet-level department of education.<ref>, '']'', March 10, 1923.</ref> It failed to pass during his tenure in the House, and over fifty years would pass before its objective would be fully ].

			===Governor of Puerto Rico===
			During his congressional tenure, Towner served as chairman of the ], a committee with oversight responsibility over protectorates and territories. In early-1923, ] ] appointed Towner ], a post he held until September 29, 1929. His tenure was characterized by the construction several public works projects, such as the system of aqueducts in various sectors, the irrigation system in ], the School of Tropical Medicine building in ], and the penitentiary.<ref name="pr">. {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616043852/http://enciclopediapr.org/ing/article.cfm?ref=08100101 \|date=2010-06-16 }} ''Puerto Rico Encyclopedia'' (accessed 2009-01-25).</ref> He also implemented a retirement law for public employees and a new tax law.<ref name="pr" />

			== Personal life ==
			Towner resumed the practice of law in Corning until his death on November 23, 1937. He was interred in Walnut Grove Cemetery.

			He is the namesake of Horace Mann Towner Primary Schools in ] and ]

			==References==
			{{commons category\|Horace Mann Towner}}
			{{reflist}}

			{{s-start}}
			{{s-par\|us-hs}}
			{{US House succession box
			\| state= Iowa
			\| district= 8
			\| before= ]
			\| after= ]
			\| years= 1911–1923}}
			{{s-off}}
			{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]<br />''(Acting)''\|after=]<br />''(Acting)''\|years= April 1, 1923 – September 29, 1929}}
			{{s-end}}

			{{US House Republican Conference Chairs}}
			{{IARepresentatives}}
			{{USCongRep-start\|congresses= 62nd–68th ]es \|state=]}}
			{{USCongRep/IA/62}}
			{{USCongRep/IA/63}}
			{{USCongRep/IA/64}}
			{{USCongRep/IA/65}}
			{{USCongRep/IA/66}}
			{{USCongRep/IA/67}}
			{{USCongRep/IA/68}}
			{{USCongRep-end}}
			{{Puerto Rico Governors}}

			{{Authority control}}

			{{DEFAULTSORT:Towner, Horace Mann}}
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]

Latest revision as of 03:46, 17 December 2024

American politician and governor of Puerto Rico

Horace Mann Towner


Governor of Puerto Rico
In office April 1, 1923 – September 29, 1929
President	Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover
Preceded by	Juan Bernardo Huyke (acting)
Succeeded by	James R. Beverley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 8th district
In office March 4, 1911 – April 1, 1923
Preceded by	William Darius Jamieson
Succeeded by	Hiram Kinsman Evans

Personal details
Born	(1855-10-23)October 23, 1855 Belvidere, Illinois, U.S.
Died	November 23, 1937(1937-11-23) (aged 82) Corning, Iowa, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	University of Chicago (BA) Union College of Law (LLB)

Horace Mann Towner (October 23, 1855 – November 23, 1937) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa's 8th congressional district and appointed the governor of Puerto Rico. In an era in which the federal government's role in health and education was small, he was an early leader of efforts to expand that role.

Early life and education

Towner was born in Belvidere, Illinois, the son of John and Keziah Towner. He was educated in the public schools at Belvidere, at the University of Chicago, and at the Union College of Law (now the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law).

Career

Towner was admitted to the bar in 1877, and initially practiced law in Prescott, Iowa, in Adams County. In 1880, he was elected county superintendent of schools at Corning, Iowa, in which capacity he served until 1884. He resumed the practice of law in Corning. In 1887 he married Harriet Elizabeth Cole, at Corning. They had three children, Leta, Horace, and Constance.

In 1890, he was elected as a judge of the third judicial district of Iowa. He also served as a lecturer on constitutional law at the University of Iowa from 1902 to 1911.

He was also a pianist and a composer, who set to music "Iowa, Beautiful Land", once Iowa's official song.

U.S. Congress

In 1910 Towner ran successfully as a Republican to succeed retiring Democrat William Darius Jamieson representing Iowa's 8th congressional district in the U.S. House. He was re-elected five times. From 1919 to 1923, he was served as the House Republican Conference Chairman.

He was the co-author (with Texas Senator Morris Sheppard) of the first federal law to offer matching federal funds for social welfare or to offer grants-in-aid to states for health purposes. That law, known as the Sheppard-Towner Act or the Maternity and Infant Act, was designed to lower the United States' relatively high rates of infant mortality, and established maternal and child health services in each state. First offered in 1919, it passed in 1921. Although the program it created was chronically underfunded after passage and was allowed to expire in 1929, it paved the way for many similar state-federal social welfare programs in the New Deal era and thereafter.

Towner was also the co-sponsor of the Towner-Sterling bill, which would have created a cabinet-level department of education. It failed to pass during his tenure in the House, and over fifty years would pass before its objective would be fully realized.

Governor of Puerto Rico

During his congressional tenure, Towner served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Insular Affairs, a committee with oversight responsibility over protectorates and territories. In early-1923, President Warren G. Harding appointed Towner Governor of Puerto Rico, a post he held until September 29, 1929. His tenure was characterized by the construction several public works projects, such as the system of aqueducts in various sectors, the irrigation system in Isabela, the School of Tropical Medicine building in Puerta de Tierra, and the penitentiary. He also implemented a retirement law for public employees and a new tax law.

Personal life

Towner resumed the practice of law in Corning until his death on November 23, 1937. He was interred in Walnut Grove Cemetery.

He is the namesake of Horace Mann Towner Primary Schools in Comerío, Puerto Rico and Cataño, Puerto Rico

References

"H.M. Towner Died Tuesday", Adams County Free Press, 1937-11-25 at p. 1.
Edward Schlesinger, "The Sheppard-Towner Era: A Prototype Case Study in State-Federal Relationships", 57 American Journal of Public Health 1034 (1967).
"A New Department", Time, March 10, 1923.
^ "Chronology of U.S. Governor (1898-1946)". Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine Puerto Rico Encyclopedia (accessed 2009-01-25).

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded byWilliam Darius Jamieson	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 8th congressional district 1911–1923	Succeeded byHiram Kinsman Evans
Political offices
Preceded byJuan Bernardo Huyke (Acting)	Governor of Puerto Rico April 1, 1923 – September 29, 1929	Succeeded byJames R. Beverley (Acting)

v t e Republican Conference chairs of the United States House of Representatives
Morrill Schenck Banks Blair Maynard McCrary Hale Frye Robeson Cannon Henderson Grosvenor Cannon Hepburn Currier Greene Towner S. Anderson Hawley Luce Lehlbach Woodruff Hope Hoeven Ford Laird J. Anderson Devine Kemp D. Cheney Lewis Armey Boehner Watts Pryce Putnam Pence Hensarling McMorris Rodgers L. Cheney Stefanik McClain (elect)

v t e Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa
1st	W. Thompson Miller Henn A. Hall S. Curtis J. F. Wilson McCrary Stone McCoid B. Hall Gear Seerley Gear S. Clark Hedge Kennedy Kopp Eicher Martin Schwengel Schmidhauser Schwengel Mezvinsky Leach Nussle Braley Blum Finkenauer Hinson Miller-Meeks
2nd	Leffler L. Clark J. P. Cook Thorington Davis Vandever Price Smyth W. Wolf Cotton Tufts Price Farwell Murphy Hayes G. Curtis Lane Rumple Wade Dawson Pepper Vollmer Hull Letts B. Jacobsen W. Jacobsen Talle L. Wolf Bromwell Culver Blouin Tauke Nussle Leach Loebsack Miller-Meeks Hinson
3rd	Allison Donnan Ainsworth Burdick Updegraff Henderson Birdsall Pickett Connolly Sweet Robinson Willford Gwynne Gross Grassley Evans Nagle Lightfoot Boswell Latham Young Axne Nunn
4th	Grinnell Loughridge Walden Pratt Deering Weller Fuller Sweney Butler Updegraff Haugen Biermann Talle LeCompte Carter Kyl Bandstra Kyl N. Smith Ganske Latham King Feenstra
5th	Kasson G. Dodge Palmer J. Wilson R. Clark W. G. Thompson J. Wilson Frederick Kerr J. Hamilton Cousins Good Cole Thurston LeCompte Cunningham N. Smith Scherle Harkin Lightfoot Grandy Latham King
6th	A. Hubbard Pomeroy Orr Loughridge Sampson Weaver Cutts J. C. Cook Cutts J. C. Cook Weaver Lacey White Lacey D. Hamilton Kendall Kirkpatrick Ramseyer Dowell Utterback Dowell Goodwin Cunningham Gilchrist J. I. Dolliver Coad Hoeven Greigg Mayne Bedell Grandy
7th	Kasson Cummings E. Gillette Kasson H. Smith Conger Hays Hull Prouty Dowell Wearin Jensen Hansen Scherle
8th	McDill Sapp Hepburn Anderson Flick Hepburn Jamieson Towner Evans Thurston Gilchrist Hoeven
9th	Orr Oliver Carpenter Pusey Lyman Reed Bowman Hager McPherson W. Smith Green Vincent Swanson G. Gillette Harrington Narey
10th	Holmes J. P. Dolliver Conner Woods Dickinson Gilchrist
11th	Struble Perkins Thomas E. Hubbard Scott Steele Scott Boies Campbell
AL	Hastings Leffler
Terr	Chapman A. Dodge

Iowa's delegation(s) to the 62nd–68th United States Congresses (ordered by seniority)

62nd	Senate: ▌A. Cummins ▌L. Young ▌W. Kenyon	House: ▌G. Haugen (R) ▌W. Smith (R) ▌E. Hubbard (R) ▌C. Kennedy (R) ▌J. Good (R) ▌N. Kendall (R) ▌C. Pickett (R) ▌F. Woods (R) ▌I. Pepper (D) ▌S. Prouty (R) ▌H. Towner (R) ▌W. Green (R) ▌G. Scott (R)
63rd	Senate: ▌A. Cummins (R) ▌W. Kenyon (R)	House: ▌G. Haugen (R) ▌C. Kennedy (R) ▌J. Good (R) ▌F. Woods (R) ▌I. Pepper (D) ▌S. Prouty (R) ▌H. Towner (R) ▌W. Green (R) ▌G. Scott (R) ▌M. Connolly (D) ▌S. Kirkpatrick (D) ▌H. Vollmer (D)
64th	Senate: ▌A. Cummins (R) ▌W. Kenyon (R)	House: ▌G. Haugen (R) ▌C. Kennedy (R) ▌J. Good (R) ▌F. Woods (R) ▌H. Towner (R) ▌W. Green (R) ▌C. Dowell (R) ▌H. Hull (R) ▌C. Ramseyer (R) ▌T. Steele (D) ▌B. Sweet (R)
65th	Senate: ▌A. Cummins (R) ▌W. Kenyon (R)	House: ▌G. Haugen (R) ▌C. Kennedy (R) ▌J. Good (R) ▌F. Woods (R) ▌H. Towner (R) ▌W. Green (R) ▌G. Scott (R) ▌C. Dowell (R) ▌H. Hull (R) ▌C. Ramseyer (R) ▌B. Sweet (R)
66th	Senate: ▌A. Cummins (R) ▌W. Kenyon (R)	House: ▌G. Haugen (R) ▌C. Kennedy (R) ▌J. Good (R) ▌H. Towner (R) ▌W. Green (R) ▌C. Dowell (R) ▌H. Hull (R) ▌C. Ramseyer (R) ▌B. Sweet (R) ▌W. Boies (R) ▌L. Dickinson (R)
67th	Senate: ▌A. Cummins (R) ▌W. Kenyon (R) ▌C. Rawson (R) ▌S. Brookhart (R)	House: ▌G. Haugen (R) ▌J. Good (R) ▌H. Towner (R) ▌W. Green (R) ▌C. Dowell (R) ▌H. Hull (R) ▌C. Ramseyer (R) ▌B. Sweet (R) ▌W. Boies (R) ▌L. Dickinson (R) ▌W. Kopp (R) ▌C. Cole (R)
68th	Senate: ▌A. Cummins (R) ▌S. Brookhart (R)	House: ▌G. Haugen (R) ▌H. Towner (R) ▌W. Green (R) ▌C. Dowell (R) ▌H. Hull (R) ▌C. Ramseyer (R) ▌W. Boies (R) ▌L. Dickinson (R) ▌W. Kopp (R) ▌C. Cole (R) ▌T. Robinson (R) ▌H. Evans (R)

v t e Governors of Puerto Rico
Colony of Puerto Rico (1898–1949)	Miles Brooke Herny Davis Allen Hunt Winthrop Post Colton Yager Benedicto Reily Huyke Towner Beverley Roosevelt Beverley Gore Horton Winship Colom Leahy Gallardo Swope Gallardo Piñero
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (1949–present)	Muñoz Marín Sánchez Vilella Ferré Hernández Colón Romero Barceló Hernández Colón P. Rosselló Calderón Acevedo Vilá Fortuño García Padilla R. Rosselló Pierluisi (de facto) Vásquez Garced Pierluisi González-Colón
Italics indicate acting officeholders

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