Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was a Kaw Nation Native American Indian who served as a Republican Vice President of the United States. After serving as a United States Representative, and then a longtime United States Senator from Kansas, Curtis was later chosen as Senate Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues, and the 31st Vice President of the United States (1929–1933). He was the first person with significant acknowledged Native American ancestry and the first person with significant acknowledged non-European ancestry to reach either of the two highest offices in the United States government's executive branch. He was enrolled in the Kaw tribe and his maternal ancestry was three-quarters Native American: Kaw, Osage and Potawatomi. His father was European-American. Curtis spent years of childhood living with his maternal grandparents on their Kaw reservation.As an attorney, Curtis entered political life at the age of 32, winning multiple terms from his district in Topeka, Kansas, starting in 1892 as a Republican to the US House of Representatives. He was elected to the US Senate first by the Kansas Legislature (in 1906), and then by popular vote (in 1914, 1920 and 1926), serving one six-year term from 1907 to 1913, and then most of three terms from 1915 to 1929 (when he became Vice President). His long popularity and connections in Kansas and national politics helped make Curtis a strong leader in the Senate; he marshaled support to be elected as Senate Minority Whip from 1915 to 1925 and then as Senate Majority Leader from 1925 to 1929. In these positions, he was instrumental in managing legislation and accomplishing Republican national goals.Curtis ran for Vice-President with Herbert Hoover as President in 1928. They won a landslide victory. Although they ran again in 1932, the population saw Hoover as failing to alleviate the Great Depression, and they were defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner.
Permelia Jeannette Curtis, Henry "Harry" King Curtis, Leona Virginia Curtis, Henry "Harry" King Curtis,, Permelia Jeannette Curtis,
Star Sign
Aquarius
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Fact
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Interred in Topeka Cemetery, Topeka, Kansas.
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Vice president of the United States, 4 March 1929-3 March 1933, under President Herbert Hoover.
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U.S. senator from Kansas, 29 January 1907-3 March 1913 and 4 March 1915-3 March 1929. Resigned from the Senate because he had been elected vice president.
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Republican U.S. representative from Kansas, 4 March 1893-28 January 1907. Resigned from office after being elected to the U.S. Senate to fill the unexpired term of Senator Joseph R. Burton.
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Cousin of Heather Blair, on her paternal grandmother's side.
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Was the first (acknowledged) man of non-European ancestry to occupy a position in the White House, being part American Indian (Kaw tribe). The only other White House occupant to have Native American ancestry (as far as is known) was President Bill Clinton, some of whose ancestors came from the Cherokee tribe.
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Jim Thorpe -- All-American
1951
Charles Curtis - Vice President (uncredited)
Sporting Blood
1931
Himself, Vice-President of the United States, at Kentucky Derby
$950,000