Selden Palmer Spencer | |
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United States Senator from Missouri |
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In office November 6, 1918 – May 16, 1925 |
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Preceded by | Xenophon P. Wilfley |
Succeeded by | George H. Williams |
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives | |
In office 1895 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Erie, Pennsylvania |
September 16, 1862
Died | May 16, 1925 Washington, D.C. |
(aged 62)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Susan Mary (Brookes) Spencer |
Children | Four sons, one daughter |
Profession | Lawyer, educator |
Religion | Presbyterian |
Signature |
Selden Palmer Spencer (September 16, 1862 – May 16, 1925) was an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, he served as a United States Senator from Missouri.
Selden Spencer was born in Erie, Pennsylvania to Samuel Selden and Eliza Deborah (Palmer) Spenser. His great-grandfather was American Revolutionary War veteran Lieutenant Israel Selden Spencer, who participated in the Battle of Saratoga and others. Selden P. Spencer received his basic education in Erie before attending Hopkins School, a college preparatory school in New Haven, Connecticut. Afterward Spencer attended Yale College, where he was an editor of the student newspaper and participated in Lacrosse. He graduated with honors, seventh in a class of one hundred fifty, in 1884. He then moved to St. Louis, Missouri to attend Washington University law school, graduating in 1886.
Admitted to the bar in 1886, Spencer opened a law practice in St. Louis with future Missouri governor Forrest Donnell while also serving as a professor of medical jurisprudence at the Missouri Medical College. The college would later bestow him with an honorary M.D. degree in appreciation of his efforts.Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri also granted him honorary Ph.D and LL.D degrees.