Thomas David Schall was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He served in both 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...

 and the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 from Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. He was initially elected as a Progressive

Progressive Party (United States, 1912)

The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American political party. It was formed after a split in the Republican Party between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt....

 but later joined the Republican Party.

Schall was born in Reed City, Michigan

Reed City, Michigan

Reed City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,430. It is the county seat of Osceola County.It is the home town of author Timothy James Bazzett.-Geography:...

, and moved with his family to Campbell, Minnesota

Campbell, Minnesota

Campbell is a city in Wilkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 158 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND–MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, in 1884. He initially attended Hamline University

Hamline University

-Red Wing location :Hamline was named in honor of Leonidas Lent Hamline, a bishop of the Methodist Church whose interest in the frontier led him to donate $25,000 toward the building of an institution of higher learning in what was then the territory of Minnesota. Today, a statue of Bishop Hamline...

, but graduated from the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 in 1902, followed by William Mitchell College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....

 (then the St. Paul College of Law) in 1904. Three years later, he was blinded by an electrical shock from a cigar lighter.

Schall was elected to the House of Representatives in 1914 and served from March 4, 1915, to March 4, 1925, in the 64th

64th United States Congress

The Sixty-fourth 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, 1915 to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth...

, 65th

65th United States Congress

The Sixty-fifth 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, 1917 to March 4, 1919, during the fourth and fifth...

, 66th

66th United States Congress

The Sixty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919 to March 4, 1921, during the last two years of...

, 67th

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 68th congresses

68th United States Congress

The Sixty-eighth 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, 1923 to March 4, 1925, during the last months of...

. As he was legally blind, he was granted, by House vote, a full-time page to assist him with his work.

After losing the Republican primary for a special election to the Senate in 1923, Schall was elected to the Senate in 1924, defeating Magnus Johnson

Magnus Johnson

Magnus Johnson was an American farmer and politician. He served in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives from Minnesota as a member of the Farmer–Labor Party....

 with 46% of the vote. He served from March 4, 1925, until his death, in the 69th

69th United States Congress

The Sixty-ninth 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, 1925 to March 4, 1927, during the third and fourth...

, 70th

70th United States Congress

The Seventieth 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, 1927 to March 3, 1929, during the last two years of...

, 71st

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...

, 72nd

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...

, and 73rd congresses

73rd United States Congress

The Seventy-third 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, 1933 to January 3, 1935, during the first two years...

. He had a tough re-election campaign in 1930, facing strong candidates from both the Democratic and Farmer Labor parties, and eventually won with 37% of the vote.

Schall was struck by a hit and run

Hit and run (vehicular)

Hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic accident , and failing to stop and identify oneself afterwards...

 driver while walking across the Baltimore-Washington Parkway

Baltimore-Washington Parkway

The Baltimore–Washington Parkway is a highway in the U.S. state of Maryland, running southwest from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. The road begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 50 and Maryland Route 201 near Cheverly in Prince George's County at the D.C...

 in Cottage City, Maryland

Cottage City, Maryland

Cottage City is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,136 at the 2000 census. Cottage City is a small, quiet community lying between Eastern Avenue , Brentwood, Colmar Manor, and the Anacostia River...

, on December 19, 1935. He died in Washington three days later, becoming one of few United States senators or congressmen to die in a road accident while in office. He is buried in Lakewood Cemetery

Lakewood Cemetery

Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown area...

 in Minneapolis.

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