Elbert D. Thomas
Elbert D. Thomas | |
---|---|
Reed Smoot | |
Succeeded by | Wallace F. Bennett |
4th High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands | |
In office January 6, 1951 – February 11, 1953 | |
Preceded by | Arthur W. Radford |
Succeeded by | Frank E. Midkiff |
Personal details | |
Born | Elbert Duncan Thomas June 17, 1883 Hawaii Territory, U.S. |
Resting place | Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37.92″N 111°51′28.8″W / 40.7772000°N 111.858000°W |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouses |
|
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | University of Utah University of California, Berkeley |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army (Reserves) Utah National Guard |
Elbert Duncan Thomas (June 17, 1883 – February 11, 1953) was a
from 1933 until 1951. He served as the Chair of the Senate Education Committee.Biography
Thomas was born in
Thomas married Edna Harker on June 25, 1907, in the Salt Lake Temple and they had three daughters together. Edna died in 1942, and Elbert later married Ethel Evans in 1946 in the Salt Lake Temple.[citation needed]
Church service
Thomas served a mission to Japan for the LDS Church with his first wife, from 1907 to 1912. He was one of the first LDS missionaries sent to Japan, and his first daughter, Chiyo, was born there. Elbert developed a deep love for the Japanese people and learned to speak Japanese fluently. He was the author of Sukui No Michi, the Japanese translation of the Mormon tract Way of Salvation. For part of his five-year mission, Thomas was the president of the Japanese Mission. On his return from Japan, he became a Professor of Political Science and History at the University of Utah (where he had received his B.A. in 1906). He taught Latin, Greek and Japanese culture, as well as being a Political Science and History professor and eventually an Administrator on the Board of Regents at the University of Utah for many years.[citation needed]
Political office
Thomas was first elected to the Senate as a
In April 1943 a confidential analysis of the
a Mormon ex-missionary, whose work was mostly done in the Far East. He speaks Japanese fluently, and his attitudes towards post-war problems is coloured principally by his Far Eastern views which are summed up in his statement that "the days of the white man's domination are over and the British Empire is almost certain to be dissolved in that part of the world." He is an out and out internationalist and interventionist, who has voted with the Administration on all foreign measures. He is essentially a free trader but, nevertheless, occasionally votes with the Farm Bloc which is powerful in the agricultural State which he represents. He is an ardent champion of the Jewish army scheme.[2]
Thomas was among twelve nominated at the
Legacy
The Gibbs-Thomas House, in Salt Lake City, which was Thomas's sole residence in Utah, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 in large part to recognize his association.[4]
References
- ^ "iMirus Online Digital Reader". thescroll.imirus.com. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- JSTOR 4634869. Archived from the original(PDF) on October 21, 2013.
- ^ Catledge, Turner (1944-07-22). "Truman Nominated for Vice Presidency". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
- ^ Peter Brown (January 23, 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Gibbs-Thomas House". National Park Service. Retrieved May 23, 2019. With accompanying two photos from 1984