Robert J. Gamble
United States Senator from South Dakota
In office March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1913
Preceded by	Richard F. Pettigrew
Succeeded by	Thomas Sterling
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's at-large district
In office March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1901
Preceded by	Freeman T. Knowles
Succeeded by	Eben W. Martin
In office March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897
Preceded by	William V. Lucas
Succeeded by	Freeman T. Knowles
Personal details
Born	Robert Jackson Gamble (1851-02-07)February 7, 1851 Genesee County, New York, U.S.
Died	September 22, 1924(1924-09-22) (aged 73) Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.
Resting place	Yankton City Cemetery
Political party	Republican

Robert Jackson Gamble (February 7, 1851 – September 22, 1924) was a U.S. Representative and Senator from South Dakota. He was the father of Ralph Abernethy Gamble and brother of John Rankin Gamble, members of South Dakota's prominent Gamble family.

Early life[edit]

Gamble was born in Genesee County, near Akron, New York, the son of Robert Gamble and Jennie (Abernethy) Gamble.^[1] In 1862, he moved with his parents to Fox Lake, Wisconsin.^[1] In 1874, he graduated from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science degree, and he later received his Master of Science from Lawrence.^[1][2] While attending college, Gamble taught school in the summer to pay his tuition.^[2] After graduating, he studied law with the Milwaukee firm of Jenkins, Elliot & Wheeler, and was admitted to the bar in 1875.^[2] He moved to Yankton in the portion of the Dakota Territory which later became South Dakota.^[2]

Start of career[edit]

A Republican, he became a district attorney for the second judicial district of the Territory of Dakota in 1880, and was Yankton's city attorney in 1881 and 1882.^[2] He served on the Territorial Council in 1885.^[2] In 1894 he was elected to Seat B, one of South Dakota's two at-large seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and he served in the Fifty-fourth Congress.^[2] He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1896, but was again elected to Seat B in 1898, and served in the Fifty-sixth Congress.^[2] During the Fifty-sixth Congress, he became the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Expenditures on the Public Buildings.^[3]

U.S. Senator[edit]

In 1901, Gamble was elected to the United States Senate.^[2] Re-elected in 1906, he served until March 1913, after being an unsuccessful candidate for renomination.^[2] During his senate career, he was chairman of the: Committee on Indian Depredations (57th Congress); Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard (58th to 60th Congresses); Committee on Indian Affairs (62nd Congress); and Committee on Enrolled Bills (64th Congress).^[3]

Later life[edit]

In 1915, Gamble moved to Sioux Falls and resumed the practice of law.^[3] From 1916 to 1924 he served as a referee in bankruptcy for the southern district of South Dakota. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the League to Enforce Peace.^[3]

Death and burial[edit]

Gamble died in Sioux Falls, and was buried at Yankton City Cemetery in Yankton.^[3]

Honors[edit]

In 1909, Lawrence University awarded Gamble the honorary degree of LL.D.^[1]

Family[edit]

In 1884, Gamble married Carrie S. Osborne of Portage, Wisconsin.^[1] They were the parents of two sons, Ralph and George.^[1]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

Books[edit]

• Coursey, Oscar William (1913). Who's Who in South Dakota. Vol. I. Mitchell, SD: Educator School Supply Co.
• Lawrence College (1918). Lawrence College Alumni Record, 1857-1915. Appleton, WI: Post Publishing Company.
• United States Congress (2005). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-16-073176-1.

External links[edit]

• United States Congress. "Robert J. Gamble (id: G000032)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Robert J. Gamble at Find a Grave
• Gamble Family at The Political Graveyard