Elmer Burkett

Who was Elmer Burkett?

Elmer Jacob Burkett was a Representative and a Senator from Nebraska.

Burkett was born on a farm near Glenwood, Iowa. He attended the public schools and graduated from Tabor College in 1890 and from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Law in 1893. He served as principal of the Leigh, Nebraska, public schools from 1890–1892; he was admitted to the bar in 1893 and commenced practice in Lincoln, Nebraska. Burkett was a trustee of Tabor College from 1895-1905. He was a member of the Nebraska House of Representatives 1896-1898.

Burkett was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-sixth, Fifty-seventh, and Fifty-eighth Congresses; he was reelected to the Fifty-ninth Congress, but resigned, effective March 4, 1905, to become a Senator. He was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1905, to March 4, 1911. During his term, he served as the chairman of the Committee on Indian Depredations and on the Committee on Pacific Railroads. Burkett was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1910.