Thomas Sterling was an American

United States

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

 politician

Politician

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

. 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...

, he served in 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 1913 to 1925.

Early life

Sterling, (brother of John A. Sterling

John A. Sterling

John Allen Sterling was a U.S. Representative from Illinois, and brother of Thomas Sterling.-Biography:...

), was born near Amanda, Ohio

Amanda, Ohio

Amanda is a village in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The population was 707 at the 2000 census. Amanda was the birthplace of Thomas Sterling, a Republican in the United States Senate from 1913 to 1925.-Geography:...

. He moved with his parents to McLean County, Illinois

McLean County, Illinois

McLean County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 169,572, which is an increase of 12.7% from 150,433 in 2000. Its county seat is...

 in 1854, where he attended the public schools and graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...

 at Bloomington

Bloomington, Illinois

Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...

 in 1875. He was superintendent of schools of Bement, Illinois

Bement, Illinois

Bement is a village in Piatt County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 1,784, and in 2009, the population was 1,703.-Geography:Bement is located at ....

 from 1875 to 1877.

Legal career

Sterling studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1878, commencing his practice in Springfield, Illinois

Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...

. He became the city prosecuting attorney in 1880 until 1881. In 1882 he moved to the Territory of Dakota and located in Northville, in then Dakota Territory

Northville, South Dakota

Northville is a town in Spink County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 143 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Northville is located at ....

. He moved to Redfield

Redfield, South Dakota

Redfield is a city in and the county seat of Spink County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,333 at the 2010 census. The city is not to be confused with the surrounding Redfield Township, which encompasses unincorporated areas outside of the city limits.-Geography:Redfield is...

 in 1886 and continued the practice of law, serving as district attorney

District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

 of Spink County, South Dakota

Spink County, South Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,454 people, 2,847 households, and 1,933 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile . There were 3,352 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile...

 from 1886 to 1888.

Political career

In 1889 he became a member of the State constitutional convention, and a year later in 1890 a member of the State senate. From 1901 to 1911 he was the dean of the college of law of the University of South Dakota

University of South Dakota

The University of South Dakota ', the state’s oldest university, was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, USD is home to South Dakota's only medical school and law school. USD is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, and its current...

 at Vermillion

Vermillion, South Dakota

Vermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the tenth largest city in the state. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 10,571. Vermillion lies atop a bluff near the Missouri River.The area has been home to...

. He was elected in 1913 as a Republican to the United States Senate, was reelected in 1918, and served from March 4, 1913, to March 4, 1925. During this time, he served on the Overman Committee

Overman Committee

The Overman Committee was a special subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary chaired by North Carolina Democrat Lee Slater Overman. Between September 1918 and June 1919, it investigated German and Bolshevik elements in the United States...

 investigating seditious German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Bolshevik

Bolshevik

The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....

 activities. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1924. During the Sixty-sixth Congress he was the chairman of the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment. In the Sixty-seventh Congress he served on the Committee on Civil Service, and on the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads during the Sixty-eighth Congress. He practiced law in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and served on the faculty of National University Law School. He was appointed by President Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

 in 1925 as field secretary of the Commission for the Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington. Sterling died in Washington, D.C. and was interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery

Cedar Hill Cemetery

Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut is located at 453 Fairfield Avenue. It was designed by landscape architect Jacob Weidenmann who also designed Hartford's Bushnell Park. Its first sections were completed in 1866 and the first burial took place on July 17, 1866...

.