John Rankin Gamble was a lawyer and politician from South Dakota

South Dakota

South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

. He was born in Alabama, New York

Alabama, New York

Alabama is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The town is in the northwest part of the county. New York State Route 63 and New York State Route 77 intersect in the town. The population was 1,881 at the 2000 census...

 in 1848, and was the brother of Robert J. Gamble

Robert J. Gamble

Robert Jackson Gamble was a U.S. Representative and Senator from South Dakota. He was the father of Ralph Abernethy Gamble and brother of John Rankin Gamble....

 and uncle of Ralph Abernethy Gamble.

He attended the common schools in New York, and moved with his family to Fox Lake, Wisconsin

Fox Lake, Wisconsin

Fox Lake is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,454. The city is located within the Town of Fox Lake.-Geography:...

, and graduated from Lawrence University

Lawrence University

Lawrence University is a selective, private liberal arts college with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, in Appleton, Wisconsin. Lawrence University is known for its rigorous academic environment. Founded in 1847, the first classes were held on November 12, 1849...

 in 1872. He later studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1873.

He started his practice in Yankton

Yankton, South Dakota

Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton was the original capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota Native Americans...

 in the Dakota Territory

Dakota Territory

The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...

, becoming the district attorney for Yankton County from 1876–1878, and the United States attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

 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

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...

in 1890, and served in that capacity until his death in 1891 in Yankton.

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