Walter I. Smith

Who was Walter I. Smith?

Walter Inglewood Smith was a Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 9th congressional district, and a federal appellate judge with U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Smith attended the common schools. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1882 and practiced in Council Bluffs until 1890. He served as judge of the fifteenth judicial district of Iowa from 1890 to 1900.

In November 1900, Smith was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-sixth Congress to serve out the remainder of the term of Smith McPherson, who had resigned to accept a presidential nomination as federal district court judge. On the same day, Smith was also elected to serve a full two-year term in the Fifty-seventh Congress, from 1901 to 1903.

Smith was reelected to the five succeeding Congresses and served from December 3, 1900, to March 15, 1911, when he resigned to accept an appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Smith was nominated by President William Howard Taft to a vacancy created by the elevation of Willis Van Devanter to the U.S. Supreme Court. Smith was nominated on January 17, 1911, and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 31, 1911, receiving his commission the same day. Smith served on the Eighth Circuit from March 16, 1911, until his death in Council Bluffs on January 27, 1922. His successor on the Eighth Circuit, U.S. Senator William S. Kenyon, was also drawn from Iowa's congressional delegation.