John Walter Smith

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John Walter Smith
John Walter Smith, photo portrait head and shoulders.jpg
United States Senator
from Maryland
In office
March 25, 1908 – March 3, 1921
Preceded by William Pinkney Whyte
Succeeded by Ovington Weller
44th Governor of Maryland
In office
January 10, 1900 – January 13, 1904
Preceded by Lloyd Lowndes, Jr.
Succeeded by Edwin Warfield
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1899 – January 12, 1900
Preceded by Isaac A. Barber
Succeeded by Josiah L. Kerr
Personal details
Born February 5, 1845
Snow Hill, Maryland
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Baltimore, Maryland
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Mary Frances Richardson
Children Charlotte Whittington, Georgia
Religion Presbyterian

John Walter Smith (February 5, 1845 – April 19, 1925), a member of the United States Democratic Party, served the State of Maryland in the United States in several different positions. From 1899–1900, he was a Congressman representing the 1st district of Maryland; from 1900–1904, he was the 44th Governor of Maryland; and from 1908–1921, he was the junior United States Senator of Maryland till November 25, 1912, and thereafter was the senior Senator till March 3, 1921.

Early life and career

Smith was born at Snow Hill, Maryland, and attended private schools and Union Academy. His mother died during childbirth, and his father died when he was five. Ephraim King Wilson assumed guardianship of Smith, and raised him. He engaged in the lumber business in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina before becoming president of the First National Bank of Snow Hill and director in many business and financial institutions.

Beginning his political career, Smith was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1889, 1893, and 1897, and served as president of the Senate in 1894. Following the death of U.S. Senator to Maryland Ephraim K. Wilson in 1891, Smith sought to be elected to replace him, but lost nomination to fellow Democrat Charles H. Gibson. He was elected to the 56th Congress in 1898 from the 1st Congressional district of Maryland, but served for less than a year before being unexpectedly nominated for Governor of Maryland by the Democratic State Convention in 1899. Smith was victorious against incumbent governor Lloyd Lowndes, Jr.

Governor of Maryland

As Governor, Smith promoted education, labor, and healthcare reform. In education, Smith reorganized the public school system, guaranteed free textbooks for all students, appointed a school superintendent, and removed the Agricultural College of Maryland (now known as the University of Maryland, College Park) from private control and placed it under the guidance of the State. He also improved the State's workmen's compensation program, encouraged a merit system for promotions, reorganized health laws and constructed a State psychiatric hospital. Governor Smith is also credited with signing into law the Certified Public Accountant Act, making Maryland the third state to create a Profession of Public Accounting with an exam, and state licensing and oversight. Smith also freed the State from much of its debt by the time he departed from the position in 1904.

U.S. Senate

After another unsuccessful attempt at a Senate election in 1904, Smith was chosen to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of Senator William Pinkney Whyte in 1908. He was re-elected in 1909 and 1914 and served from March 25, 1908, to March 3, 1921. He lost election in 1920 for a third term as Senator to Ovington E. Weller.

As senator, Smith was chairman of the Committee to Investigate Trespassers Upon Land (62nd Congress), the Committee on the District of Columbia (63rd through 65th Congresses), and the Committee to Examine Branches of the Civil Service (66th Congress).

Smith retired to private life and died in Baltimore, Maryland. He is buried in the Makemie Memorial Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Snow Hill, MD.

References

Political offices
Preceded by President of the Maryland State Senate
1894
Succeeded by
William Cabell Bruce
Preceded by Governor of Maryland
1900–1904
Succeeded by
Edwin Warfield
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 1st congressional district

1899–1900
Succeeded by
Josiah Kerr
United States Senate
Preceded by U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Maryland
1908–1921
Served alongside: Isidor Rayner, William P. Jackson, Blair Lee I, Joseph Irwin France
Succeeded by
Ovington Weller