Elmer Jacob Burkett (December 1, 1867 – May 23, 1935) was an American educator, lawyer and politician who served six terms as a representative and a senator from Nebraska from 1899 to 1911.
Early life and career
Burkett was born on a farm near Glenwood, Iowa. He attended the public schools and graduated from Tabor College in 1890 and from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Law in 1893. He served as principal of the Leigh, Nebraska, public schools from 1890 to 1892; he was admitted to the bar in 1893 and commenced practice in Lincoln, Nebraska. Burkett was a trustee of Tabor College from 1895 to 1905.
Political career
He was a member of the Nebraska House of Representatives from 1896 to 1898.
Congress
Burkett was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-sixth, Fifty-seventh, and Fifty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1899 – March 4, 1905); he was reelected to the Fifty-ninth Congress, but resigned, effective March 4, 1905, to become a senator.
U.S. Senate
He was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1905, to March 3, 1911. During his term, he served as the chairman of the Committee on Indian Depredations (Fifty-ninth Congress) and on the Committee on Pacific Railroads (Fifty-ninth through Sixty-first Congresses).
Burkett was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1910.
Later career
He then resumed the practice of law in Lincoln; he declined the candidacy for Governor of Nebraska in 1912, and was also an unsuccessful candidate for the vice presidential nomination in 1912 after the death of incumbent James S. Sherman.
Death and burial
He died in Lincoln on May 23, 1935, and was interred in Wyuka Cemetery.
References
- United States Congress. "Elmer Burkett (id: B001103)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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