Charles Edgar Pickett was a two-term Republican U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Iowa's 3rd congressional district

Iowa's 3rd congressional district

Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that currently covers an area from Des Moines to the western outskirts of the Cedar Falls-Waterloo Metropolitan Area to the western outskirts of the Cedar Rapids area and to Lucas and Monroe counties .The...

.

Early years

Born near Bonaparte, Iowa

Bonaparte, Iowa

Bonaparte is a city in Van Buren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 458 at the 2000 census. The town is located on the Des Moines River and contains a number of historical buildings, including a large pottery. The town was flooded during the Flood of 1851.-Geography:Bonaparte's...

, Pickett attended the common school

Common school

A common school was a public school in the United States or Canada in the nineteenth century. The term 'common school' was coined by Horace Mann, and refers to the fact that they were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions....

s. He was graduated from the University of Iowa at Iowa City

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...

 in 1888 and from its College of Law

University of Iowa College of Law

The University of Iowa College of Law is one of the eleven professional graduate schools at the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest law school in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. The law school was ranked as the 27th best law school...

 in 1890. Pickett was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1890 and commenced practice in Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...

. He served as vice president of the Pioneer National Bank, and went on to serve as regent of the University of Iowa from 1896 to 1909.

He served as chairman of the Republican State Convention in 1899.

Political career

In 1908, Pickett was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to represent Iowa's 3rd congressional district the Sixty-first

61st United States Congress

The Sixty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1909 to March 4, 1911, during the first two years of...

 Congress. Two years later, he was re-elected, leading to service in the Sixty-second

62nd United States Congress

- House of Representatives :* Democratic : 230 * Republican : 162* Socialist : 1* Independent : 1TOTAL members: 394-Senate:* President: James S...

 Congress.

In 1912, when Republicans were divided between their own party's candidates and candidates of the Bull Moose Party, Pickett ran for re-election to a third term, but was defeated by Democrat Maurice Connolly

Maurice Connolly

Maurice Connolly was elected in 1912 to a single term as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 3rd congressional district. After giving up his House seat in an unsuccessful bid for election to the U.S...

 of Dubuque. In all, he served from March 4, 1909 to March 3, 1913.

After losing the election, he resumed the practice of law in Waterloo. He again served as chairman of the Republican State Convention in 1916, and served as delegate at large to the 1920 Republican National Convention

1920 Republican National Convention

The 1920 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States nominated Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding for President and Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge for Vice President...

.

In 1922, U.S. Senator William S. Kenyon of Iowa resigned to accept a judgeship, forcing a special election. Pickett was one of six Republicans who ran in the Republican primary for Kenyon's former senate seat. Insurgent Smith W. Brookhart

Smith W. Brookhart

Smith Wildman Brookhart , was twice elected as a Republican to represent Iowa in the United States Senate. He was considered an "insurgent" within the Republican Party; his criticisms of the Harding and Coolidge Administrations and of business interests alienated others within the Republican...

finished far ahead of Pickett and the others, by a great enough margin to avoid a convention fight.

Pickett died in Waterloo, on July 20, 1930.
He was interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Waterloo.