Charles W. Brooks

Charles W. Brooks
United States Senator from Illinois
In office November 22, 1940 – January 3, 1949
Preceded by	James M. Slattery
Succeeded by	Paul Douglas
Personal details
Born	Charles Wayland Brooks (1897-03-08)March 8, 1897 West Bureau, Illinois
Died	January 14, 1957(1957-01-14) (aged 59) Chicago, Illinois
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gertrude Ackerly (1920–1943, divorced) Mary E. Thomas Peavey (1946–1957, his death)
Military service
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1917-1919
Rank	First Lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War I

This article is about the United States Senator, for other uses, see Charles Brooks (disambiguation).

Charles Wayland Brooks (March 8, 1897 – January 14, 1957) was a Republican U.S. Senator from Illinois from 1940 to 1949.^[1]

Born in West Bureau, Illinois, Brooks served in the Marines during World War I as a first lieutenant from 1917 to 1919; while in combat he was wounded several times.

Brooks ran for Governor of Illinois in 1936 but was defeated by incumbent Democrat Henry Horner. He was elected by a very narrow margin in 1940 to fill the senate vacancy caused by the death of J. Hamilton Lewis. Brooks was reelected in 1942 but was defeated in 1948 by Democrat Paul Douglas. Brooks returned to Chicago, Illinois, and died in 1957 from a massive heart attack.

Family

Brooks married Gertrude Ackerly in August 1920 and they had a son, Russell (b. 1924). She divorced him in April 1943 in Reno, Nevada, citing cruelty.^[2][3] He married Mary Elizabeth Thomas Peavey, a widow and daughter of U.S. Senate colleague John W. Thomas of Idaho. They wed in May 1946 and remained married to his death. Mary Brooks later became a member of the Idaho Senate and for eight years was Director of the United States Mint during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Her son, John Peavey (b. 1933), is a former Democratic politician in Idaho, formerly a Republican.

References

External links

• Politial Graveyard.com - Charles W. Brooks

United States Senators from Illinois Class 2 Thomas McLean Baker Robinson McRoberts Semple S. Douglas Browning Richardson Yates Logan Davis Cullom Lewis McCormick Deneen Lewis Slattery Brooks P. Douglas Percy Simon Durbin Class 3 Edwards McLean Kane Ewing Young Breese Shields Trumbull Oglesby Logan Farwell Palmer Mason Hopkins Lorimer Sherman McKinley Glenn Dieterich Lucas Dirksen Smith Stevenson III Dixon Moseley Braun Fitzgerald Obama Burris Kirk

Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration Committee on Rules 1870–1947 Ferry Blaine Morgan Frye Aldrich Blackburn Aldrich Spooner Knox Crane Overman Knox Curtis Moses Copeland Neely Byrd Committee on Rules and Administration 1947– Brooks Hayden Jenner Green Hennings Mansfield Jordan Cannon Pell Mathias Ford Stevens Warner McConnell Dodd McConnell Dodd Lott Feinstein Schumer