Howard Sutherland

Who was Howard Sutherland?

Howard Sutherland was an American politician. He was a Republican who represented West Virginia in both houses of the United States Congress.

Sutherland was born near Kirkwood, Missouri. He lived in Missouri until the age of 25, attending St. Louis public schools and Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. He was a newspaper editor in Fulton from 1889 to 1890. In 1890 he moved to Washington, D.C. where he studied law at Columbian University and worked for the Census office.

In 1893, Sutherland moved to Elkins, West Virginia where he participated in the mining, railroad and timber businesses. In 1908, he entered politics and was elected to the West Virginia State Senate. He was a state senator until 1912 when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He was reelected in 1914 and served in the House until 1917. In 1916 he was elected to the United States Senate and was a US Senator from 1917 to 1923. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on the Census from 1919 to 1921 and the Chairman of the Committee on Enrolled Bills from 1921 to 1923. In 1920, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for President of the United States. He received 17 delegates, about 2%, on the first ballot, and even less support on the following two ballots after which he withdrew.