C. Wayland Brooks

C. Wayland Brooks
Brooks at the 1940 Republican National Convention

United States Senator from Illinois
In office November 22, 1940 – January 3, 1949
Preceded by	James M. Slattery
Succeeded by	Paul Douglas

Personal details
Born	Charles Wayland Brooks (1897-03-08)March 8, 1897 West Bureau, Illinois, U.S.
Died	January 14, 1957(1957-01-14) (aged 59) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Gertrude Ackerly (m. 1920; div. 1943) Mary E. Thomas Peavey (m. 1946⁠–⁠1957)
Children	1
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1917–1919
Rank	First lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War I

Charles Wayland Brooks (March 8, 1897 – January 14, 1957) was a Republican U.S. Senator from Illinois from 1940 to 1949.^[1]

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Early life

Born in West Bureau, Illinois, Brooks served in the Marines during World War I as a first lieutenant from 1917 to 1919. While in combat he was wounded several times.

Political career

Brooks ran for Governor of Illinois in 1936 but was defeated by incumbent Democrat Henry Horner. He was elected by a very narrow margin in 1940 to fill the senate vacancy caused by the death of J. Hamilton Lewis.^[2] Brooks was reelected in 1942,^[3] but was defeated in 1948 by Democrat Paul Douglas.

Visit to Buchenwald Concentration Camp

On 11 April 1945, United States forces liberated the Buchenwald Concentration Camp which was established in 1937 and caused the death of at least 56,545 people. General Eisenhower left rotting corpses unburied so a visiting group of US legislators could truly understand the horror of the atrocities. This group was visiting Buchenwald to inspect the camp and learn firsthand about the enormity of the Nazi Final Solution and treatment of other prisoners.

The legislators who visited included Alben W. Barkley, Ed Izac, John M. Vorys, Dewey Short, C. Wayland Brooks, and Kenneth S. Wherry along with General Omar N. Bradley and journalists Joseph Pulitzer, Norman Chandler, William I. Nichols and Julius Ochs Adler.^[4]^[5]

Death

Brooks returned to Chicago and died at age 59 at Passavant Hospital in early 1957, after a massive heart attack.^[6]

Family

Brooks married Gertrude Ackerly in August 1920 and they had a son, Russell (b. 1924). She divorced him in April 1943 in Reno, Nevada, citing cruelty.^[7]^[8] He married Mary Elizabeth Thomas Peavey, a widow and daughter of U.S. Senate colleague John Thomas of Idaho. They wed in May 1946,^[9] and remained married to his death. Mary Brooks later became a member of the Idaho Senate.^[10] and for eight years was Director of the United States Mint during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Her son, John Peavey (b. 1933), is a former Democratic politician in Idaho, formerly a Republican.

References

^ "Bioguide Search".
^ "Brooks sworn in as new Illinois senator". Daily Kentucky New Era. Hopkinsville. (NEA photo). November 23, 1940. p. 6.
^ "Illinois returns Senator Brooks". Toledo Blade. Ohio. INS. November 4, 1942. p. 1.
^ "American Congressmen and reporters visit Buchenwald, April 24, 1945". www.scrapbookpages.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
^ "American congressmen view the open ovens in the Buchenwald crematorium. - Collections Search - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum". collections.ushmm.org. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
^ "Ex-Illinois senator dies in hospital". Sarasota Journal. Florida. Associated Press. January 14, 1957. p. 9.
^ "Wife divorces Senator". Pittsburgh Press. April 10, 1943. p. 1.
^ "Milestones". Time. April 1943. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
^ "Illinois senator to wed May 8". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. INS. April 28, 1946. p. 10.
^ Connor, Harriet J. (January 3, 1969). "State Senator is chairman". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 8.

External links

Political Graveyard.com – Charles W. Brooks
C. Wayland Brooks at Find a Grave

Party political offices
Preceded by Clarence F. Buck	Republican nominee for Illinois Treasurer 1932	Succeeded by William J. Stratton
Preceded by Len Small	Republican nominee for Governor of Illinois 1936	Succeeded by Dwight H. Green
Preceded by Otis F. Glenn	Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Illinois (Class 2) 1940, 1942, 1948	Succeeded by Joseph T. Meek
U.S. Senate
Preceded by James M. Slattery	U.S. senator (Class 2) from Illinois 1940–1949 Served alongside: Scott W. Lucas	Succeeded by Paul Douglas

v t e United States senators from Illinois
Class 2	Thomas McLean Baker Robinson McRoberts Semple S. Douglas Browning Richardson Yates Logan Davis Cullom Lewis McCormick Deneen Lewis Slattery Brooks P. Douglas Percy Simon Durbin
Class 3	Edwards McLean Kane Ewing Young Breese Shields Trumbull Oglesby Logan Farwell Palmer Mason Hopkins Lorimer Sherman McKinley Glenn Dieterich Lucas Dirksen Smith Stevenson III Dixon Moseley Braun Fitzgerald Obama Burris Kirk Duckworth

v t e Chairs of the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
Rules (1870–1947)	Ferry Blaine Morgan Frye Aldrich Blackburn Aldrich Spooner Knox Crane Overman Knox Curtis Moses Copeland Neely Byrd
Rules and Administration (1947–present)	Brooks Hayden Jenner Green Hennings Mansfield Jordan Cannon Pell Mathias Ford Stevens Warner McConnell Dodd McConnell Dodd Lott Feinstein Schumer Blunt Shelby Blunt Klobuchar

Illinois's delegation(s) to the 76th–80th United States Congresses (ordered by seniority)

76th	Senate: ▌J. H. Lewis (D) ▌S. Lucas (D) ▌J. Slattery (D) ▌C. Brooks (R)	House: ▌A. Sabath (D) ▌J. McAndrews (D) ▌C. Parsons (D) ▌H. Beam (D) ▌K. Keller (D) ▌E. Kelly (D) ▌L. Schuetz (D) ▌L. Allen (R) ▌E. Dirksen (R) ▌L. Kocialkowski (D) ▌E. Schaefer (D) ▌L. Arends (R) ▌R. Church (R) ▌R. McKeough (D) ▌A. Mitchell (D) ▌C. Reed (R) ▌L. Arnold (D) ▌F. Fries (D) ▌N. Mason (R) ▌J. Barnes (D) ▌R. Chiperfield (R) ▌A. Johnson (R) ▌J. Martin (D) ▌A. F. Maciejewski (D) ▌T. Smith (D) ▌J. Sumner (R) ▌B. Wheat (R)
77th	Senate: ▌S. Lucas (D) · ▌C. Brooks (R)	House: ▌A. Sabath (D) ▌H. Beam (D) ▌E. Kelly (D) ▌L. Schuetz (D) ▌L. Allen (R) ▌E. Dirksen (R) ▌L. Kocialkowski (D) ▌E. Schaefer (D) ▌L. Arends (R) ▌R. McKeough (D) ▌A. Mitchell (D) ▌C. Reed (R) ▌L. Arnold (D) ▌N. Mason (R) ▌J. Barnes (D) ▌R. Chiperfield (R) ▌A. Johnson (R) ▌A. F. Maciejewski (D) ▌J. Sumner (R) ▌B. Wheat (R) ▌C. W. Bishop (R) ▌S. Day (R) ▌C. Dewey (R) ▌J. Heidinger (R) ▌G. Howell (R) ▌G. Paddock (R) ▌W. Stratton (R)
78th	Senate: ▌S. Lucas (D) · ▌C. Brooks (R)	House: ▌A. Sabath (D) ▌L. Schuetz (D) ▌L. Allen (R) ▌E. Dirksen (R) ▌L. Arends (R) ▌C. Reed (R) ▌N. Mason (R) ▌R. Church (R) ▌T. O'Brien (D) ▌R. Chiperfield (R) ▌A. Johnson (R) ▌J. Sumner (R) ▌B. Wheat (R) ▌C. W. Bishop (R) ▌S. Day (R) ▌C. Dewey (R) ▌J. Heidinger (R) ▌G. Howell (R) ▌F. Busbey (R) ▌W. Dawson (D) ▌T. Gordon (D) ▌M. Gorski (D) ▌C. Johnson (R) ▌W. Rowan (D) ▌S. Simpson (R) ▌C. Vursell (R) ▌R. McMillen (R)
79th	Senate: ▌S. Lucas (D) · ▌C. Brooks (R)	House: ▌A. Sabath (D) ▌L. Allen (R) ▌E. Dirksen (R) ▌E. Kelly (D) ▌L. Arends (R) ▌C. Reed (R) ▌N. Mason (R) ▌R. Church (R) ▌T. O'Brien (D) ▌R. Chiperfield (R) ▌A. Johnson (R) ▌J. Sumner (R) ▌C. W. Bishop (R) ▌J. Heidinger (R) ▌G. Howell (R) ▌W. Dawson (D) ▌T. Gordon (D) ▌M. Gorski (D) ▌W. Rowan (D) ▌S. Simpson (R) ▌C. Vursell (R) ▌R. McMillen (R) ▌W. Link (D) ▌M. Price (R) ▌A. Resa (D) ▌E. Douglas (R) ▌R. Clippinger (R)
80th	Senate: ▌S. Lucas (D) · ▌C. Brooks (R)	House: ▌A. Sabath (D) ▌L. Allen (R) ▌E. Dirksen (R) ▌L. Arends (R) ▌C. Reed (R) ▌N. Mason (R) ▌R. Church (R) ▌T. O'Brien (D) ▌R. Chiperfield (R) ▌A. Johnson (R) ▌C. W. Bishop (R) ▌G. Howell (R) ▌W. Dawson (D) ▌T. Gordon (D) ▌M. Gorski (D) ▌S. Simpson (R) ▌C. Vursell (R) ▌R. McMillen (R) ▌M. Price (D) ▌R. Clippinger (R) ▌F. Busbey (R) ▌W. Stratton (R) ▌E. Jenison (R) ▌T. Owens (R) ▌R. Twyman (R) ▌R. Vail (R)