George H. Bender
| George H. Bender | |
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United States Senator from Ohio |
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In office December 16, 1954 – January 3, 1957 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas A. Burke |
| Succeeded by | Frank Lausche |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's At-large district |
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In office January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1949 |
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| Preceded by | John McSweeney |
| Succeeded by | Stephen M. Young |
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In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953 |
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| Preceded by | Stephen M. Young |
| Succeeded by | District inactive |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 23rd district |
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In office January 3, 1953 – December 15, 1954 |
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| Preceded by | District created |
| Succeeded by | William Edwin Minshall, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
George Harrison Bender September 29, 1896 Cleveland, Ohio |
| Died | June 18, 1961 (aged 64) Chagrin Falls, Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
George Harrison Bender (September 29, 1896 – June 18, 1961) was a Republican politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 to 1947 and 1951 to 1954. He also served in the U.S. Senate from 1954 to 1957.
The son of Joseph Bender, an employee at General Electric, and Anna Sir, Bender attended West Commerce High School, graduating in 1914. With an early interest in politics, at 15, he collected 10,000 signatures on a petition encouraging former president Theodore Roosevelt to run for the presidency in 1912. Bender presented the petition to Roosevelt personally and was rewarded when Roosevelt wrote him with news of his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, shortly before it was publicly announced. In 1916, Bender served as a delegate to the abortive Progressive party convention, which voted to dissolve rather than nominate its own presidential candidate. During the November election, Bender campaigned for Republican party candidates. His shifting party orientation reflected the internal divisions between "progressive" and "Old Guard" Republicans from 1912 to 1916.
In 1920, he married Edna Eckhardt; they had two daughters. During his life and political career, Bender held a series of jobs and began a number of business ventures to support his family. His business career included stints as a department store advertising manager, manager of the Cleveland Stadium, and proprietor of a start-up business, the Bender Insurance Company. However, politics remained his only genuine interest.
In 1920, as a Republican, he became the youngest person to win a seat in the Ohio Senate to that time. Serving until 1930, he had limited influence. He pushed unsuccessfully for the introduction of teacher tenure. Initially a strong supporter of Prohibition, his attitude changed when the police received an anonymous tip and raided his house in search of liquor. They found nothing, but Bender thereafter vehemently opposed the alcohol ban. In 1934, he founded the National Republican and the Ohio Republican magazines, which he also edited and published.
After losing four bids for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1930, 1932, 1934, and 1936, he at last won in 1938. He was re-elected until 1948, a Democratic electoral year. He won the seat back in 1950 and retained it for four more years.
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Wikipedia