Albert B. Fall | |
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28th United States Secretary of the Interior | |
In office March 5, 1921 – March 4, 1923 |
|
President | Warren G. Harding |
Preceded by | John Barton Payne |
Succeeded by | Hubert Work |
United States Senator from New Mexico |
|
In office March 27, 1912 – March 4, 1921 |
|
Preceded by | Office Created |
Succeeded by | Holm O. Bursum |
Member of the New Mexico House of Representatives | |
In office 1891-1892 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Albert Bacon Fall November 26, 1861 Frankfort, Kentucky |
Died | November 30, 1944 El Paso, Texas |
(aged 83)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Emma Garland Morgan Fall |
Children | John Morgan Fall Alexina Chase Fall Caroline Everhart Fall Jouett Elliott Fall |
Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Rank | Captain |
Battles/wars | Spanish–American War |
Albert Bacon Fall (November 26, 1861 – November 30, 1944) was a United States Senator from New Mexico and the Secretary of the Interior under President Warren G. Harding, infamous for his involvement in the Teapot Dome scandal.
Fall was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, to William R. and Edmonia Taylor Fall. He attended schools as a child in Nashville, Tennessee, but was primarily self-educated. By age eleven Fall was employed in a cotton factory. This is most likely the cause of respiratory health problems he suffered throughout his life. Due to his illnesses, Fall moved west as a young man to seek a better climate. He tried Oklahoma and Texas, but eventually he settled in Las Cruces, New Mexico Territory, where he practiced law.
Between 1879 and 1881, he was a teacher while he studied law. On May 7, 1883, Fall married Emma Garland Morgan in Clarksville, Texas. They had four children: a son, Jack Morgan Fall, and daughters Alexina Chase, Caroline Everhart and Jouett Elliott. Jack Fall and his sister Caroline died within a week of each other during the influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918. The family lived at the Three Rivers Ranch in the Tularosa Basin. Fall also had a home in El Paso, Texas.
Fall was admitted to the bar in 1891. He served in the New Mexico House of Representatives from 1891 to 1892. In 1892 and 1893 he served on the territorial council. Fall was appointed judge of the third judicial district 1893, and associate justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court later the same year.