John Rankin Gamble

Who was John Rankin Gamble?

John Rankin Gamble was a lawyer and politician from South Dakota. He was born in Alabama, New York in 1848, and was the brother of Robert J. Gamble and uncle of Ralph Abernethy Gamble.

He attended the common schools in New York, and moved with his family to Fox Lake, Wisconsin, and graduated from Lawrence University in 1872. He later studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1873.

He started his practice in Yankton in the Dakota Territory, becoming the district attorney for Yankton County from 1876–1878, and the United States attorney for the Dakota Territory in 1878. He was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives in 1877, and served there until 1879. He also served in the Territorial council from 1881 to 1885. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1890, and served in that capacity until his death in 1891 in Yankton.