John W. Thomas
| John W. Thomas | |
|---|---|
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United States Senator from Idaho |
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In office June 30, 1928 – March 3, 1933 January 27, 1940 – November 10, 1945 |
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| Preceded by |
Frank Gooding (1928) William Borah (1940) |
| Succeeded by |
James Pope (1933) Charles Gossett (1945) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 4, 1874 Prairie View, Kansas |
| Died | November 10, 1945 (aged 71) Washington, D.C. |
| Resting place |
Elmwood Cemetery Gooding, Idaho |
| Nationality | United States |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Florence Johnson Thomas (1873–1943) (m. 1906–1943, her death) |
| Children | 1 daughter: Mary Elizabeth Thomas Peavey Brooks (1907–2002) |
| Residence | Gooding |
| Alma mater | Central Normal College (KS) |
| Profession | Teacher, Banker |
John W. Thomas (January 4, 1874 – November 10, 1945) was an American politician, a United States Senator from Idaho. A Republican, he served for a total of over ten years in two different seats, both times appointed after his predecessor died in office. He won three of the four elections for senator, falling only in the Democratic landslide of 1932, and died in office.
Born on a farm in northern Kansas near Prairie View in Phillips County, Thomas attended the rural schools and the Central Normal College at Great Bend. He taught school, serving as superintendent of schools of Phillips County in Phillipsburg from 1898 to 1903, and as register of land office at Colby from 1906 to 1909, then moved west to south central Idaho and settled at Gooding, where he engaged in banking and livestock business.
Thomas was elected mayor of Gooding in 1917 for a two-year term, and was a member of the Republican National Committee from 1925 to 1933.
He was appointed to the U.S. Senate for the first time in 1928 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his political mentor, Frank Gooding, by Governor H. C. Baldridge. Thomas won the special election later that year to finish the four years of the term, and chaired the Senate Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation from 1929 to 1933. Losing support from the progressives late in the term, he was defeated for re-election in 1932 by Democrat James Pope.
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