Frank Bosworth Brandegee (July 8, 1864October 14, 1924) was a United States representative and senator from Connecticut.
Early life and education Brandegee was born in New London, Connecticut, on July 8, 1864. He was the son of Augustus Brandegee, who also served in the United States House, and his wife.Yale University, Class of 1885, Quarter-Centenary Record of the Class of 1885, Yale University, 1913, page 119
Brandegee graduated from New London's Bulkeley High School in 1881. He completed his degree at Yale College in 1885, where he was a member of Skull and Bones. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1888 and practiced in New London.Norris Galpin Osborn, Men of Mark in Connecticut, Volume 1, 1906, pages 54-57
A Republican, in 1888 Brandegee served in the Connecticut House of Representatives. He was appointed and worked as New London's Corporation Counsel from 1889 to 1893 and 1894 to 1897.United States Senate Historical Office, Pro Tem: Presidents Pro Tempore of the United States Senate Since 1789, 2008, page 84
He returned to the Connecticut House in 1899 and served as Speaker. He served again as New London's Corporation Counsel from 1901 to 1902 when he resigned because he had been elected to Congress.Samuel Hart, editor, Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography, Volume 4, 1917, page 277
U.S. House Brandegee was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Charles A. Russell. He was reelected to the Fifty-eighth and Fifty-ninth Congresses and served from November 4, 1902, until May 10, 1905, when he resigned.Caryn Hannan, editor, Connecticut Biographical Dictionary, 2008, page 160
Brandegee was a delegate to several state and national Republican conventions, and was chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party's 1904 state convention.John Tweedy, A History of the Republican National Conventions from 1856 to 1908, 1910, page 265William Harrison Taylor, Taylor's Legislative History and Souvenir of Connecticut, 1897, Volume 4, page 206The New York Times, "Connecticut Convention", May 11, 1904.
U.S. Senate Brandegee resigned from the House to accept election to the U.S. Senate, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Orville H. Platt.Connecticut General Assembly, Journal of the Senate of the State of Connecticut, 1905, page 933
He was reelected in 1908, 1914, and 1920, and served from May 10, 1905, until his death.Charles F. Ritter, Jon L. Wakelyn, American Legislative Leaders, 1850-1910, 1989, page 72
A staunch "Old Guard" conservative, Brandegee opposed women's suffrage and America's participation in the League of Nations.Carole Nichols, Votes and More for Women: Suffrage and After in Connecticut, 2013, page 39Cecelia Bucki, Bridgeport's Socialist New Deal, 1915-36, 2001, page 215Ruth O'Brien, Workers' Paradox: The Republican Origins of New Deal Labor Policy, 1886-1935, 1998, page 227 In 1920 Brandegee was also one of the chief promoters of Warren G. Harding for the US presidency.Stephen Graubard, The Presidents: The Transformation of the American Presidency from Theodore Roosevelt to Barack Obama, 2009Laton McCartney, The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country, 2009, page 24
In the Senate he was Chairman of the following committees: Interoceanic Canals (Sixty-second Congress); Panama (Sixty-second Congress); Pacific Railroads (Sixty-third through Sixty-fifth Congresses); Library (Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh Congresses); and Judiciary (Sixty-eighth Congress).Lawrence P. Ardis, Party leaders in Congress, 1789-2002, 2002, page 45
Brandegee was President pro tempore on two days (March 25–26, 1912).Robert C. Byrd, Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992, Volume 4, 1993, page 652
Death and burial Brandegee never married and had no children.United Press, The Southeast Missourian, Senator Brandegee Found Dead at Home, October 14, 1924
He killed himself in Washington, D.C. on October 14, 1924, inhaling fumes from a gas light in a seldom used bathroom on the third floor of his home.Pine Plains Register, Brandegee Dead by Gas, October 15, 1924 According to published accounts, he was in ill health and had lost most of his fortune through bad investments.Time, "Political Notes: De Mortuis", January 4, 1926. Press reports at the time indicated that he left his chauffeur a suicide note and $100, with another $100 for two other household servants.Bridgeport Telegram, "Brandegee's Death Blamed on Isolation and Financial Loss", October 15, 1924St. Petersburg Evening Independent, "Financial Losses Cause Senator to Turn on Gas", October 15, 1924.
He was interred at Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London.Thomas E. Spencer, Where They're Buried, 1998, page 117
See also List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1900–1949)
References
External links
Frank Brandegee at The Political Graveyard U.S. Government Printing Office, Frank B. Brandegee: Memorial Addresses Delivered in the Senate and House of Representatives, 1925