Ralph Waldo Emerson Gilbert (January 17, 1882 - July 30, 1939) was a 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 Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, son of George Gilmore Gilbert.

Born in Taylorsville, Kentucky

Taylorsville, Kentucky

Taylorsville is a city in Spencer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the county seat of Spencer County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,009 and was estimated at 1,275 in 2009. It was incorporated in 1829.-History:...

, Gilbert attended the public schools and the University of Virginia at Charlottesville.
He was graduated from the law school of the University of Louisville

University of Louisville

The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...

 in 1901.
He 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...

 the same year and commenced practice in Shelbyville, Kentucky

Shelbyville, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,085 people, 3,822 households, and 2,549 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,333.5 people per square mile . There were 4,117 housing units at an average density of 544.4 per square mile...

.

Gilbert was elected judge of the Shelby County Court in 1910.
He was reelected in 1914 and served until his resignation in 1917.

Gilbert was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Sixty-seventh

67th United States Congress

The Sixty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1921 to March 4, 1923, during the first two years...

 and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1921-March 3, 1929).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1928 to the Seventy-first

71st United States Congress

The Seventy-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1931, during the first two years...

 Congress.
He served as member of the Kentucky House of Representatives

Kentucky House of Representatives

The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...

 in 1929.

Gilbert was elected to the Seventy-second

72nd United States Congress

The Seventy-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931 to March 4, 1933, during the last two years...

 Congress (March 4, 1931-March 4, 1933).
He was not a candidate for renomination in 1932.
He resumed the practice of law in Shelbyville, Kentucky

Shelbyville, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,085 people, 3,822 households, and 2,549 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,333.5 people per square mile . There were 4,117 housing units at an average density of 544.4 per square mile...

.
He again served in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1933.

Gilbert was elected a member of the Kentucky Senate

Kentucky Senate

The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...

 in 1936 and served until his death in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, July 30, 1939.
He was interred in Grove Hill Cemetery, Shelbyville, Kentucky

Shelbyville, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,085 people, 3,822 households, and 2,549 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,333.5 people per square mile . There were 4,117 housing units at an average density of 544.4 per square mile...

.