Charles G. Dawes

Charles G. Dawes
Dawes, c. 1920s
30th Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1925 – March 4, 1929
PresidentCalvin Coolidge
Preceded byCalvin Coolidge
Succeeded byCharles Curtis
41st United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office
June 15, 1929 – December 30, 1931
PresidentHerbert Hoover
Preceded byAlanson B. Houghton
Succeeded byAndrew Mellon
1st Director of the Bureau of the Budget
In office
June 23, 1921 – June 30, 1922
PresidentWarren G. Harding
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byHerbert Lord
10th Comptroller of the Currency
In office
January 1, 1898 – September 30, 1901
PresidentWilliam McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded byJames H. Eckels
Succeeded byWilliam Ridgely
Personal details
Born
Charles Gates Dawes

(1865-08-27)August 27, 1865
Marietta, Ohio, U.S.
DiedApril 23, 1951(1951-04-23) (aged 85)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Resting placeRosehill Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
(m. 1889)
Children4
EducationMarietta College (AB)
University of Cincinnati (LLB)
Civilian awardsNobel Peace Prize
SignatureCursive signature in ink
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1917–1919
RankBrigadier general
UnitAmerican Expeditionary Forces
Liquidation Commission of the War Department
Battles/warsWorld War I
Military awardsArmy Distinguished Service Medal

Charles Gates Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was an American diplomat and Republican politician who was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under Calvin Coolidge. He was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925 for his work on the Dawes Plan for World War I reparations.

Born in Marietta, Ohio, Dawes attended Cincinnati Law School before beginning a legal career in Lincoln, Nebraska. After serving as a gas plant executive, he managed William McKinley's 1896 presidential campaign in Illinois. After the election, McKinley appointed Dawes as the Comptroller of the Currency. He remained in that position until 1901 before forming the Central Trust Company of Illinois. Dawes served as a general during World War I and was the chairman of the general purchasing board for the American Expeditionary Forces. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Dawes as the first director of the Bureau of the Budget. Dawes served on the Allied Reparations Commission, where he helped formulate the Dawes Plan to aid the struggling German economy.

The 1924 Republican National Convention nominated President Calvin Coolidge without opposition. After former governor of Illinois Frank O. Lowden declined the vice-presidential nomination, the convention chose Dawes as Coolidge's running mate. The Republican ticket won the 1924 presidential election, and Dawes was sworn in as vice president in 1925. Dawes helped pass the McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill in Congress, but President Coolidge vetoed it. Dawes was a candidate for renomination at the 1928 Republican National Convention, but Coolidge's opposition to Dawes helped ensure that Charles Curtis was nominated instead. In 1929, President Herbert Hoover appointed Dawes to be the Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Dawes also briefly led the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which organized a government response to the Great Depression. He resigned from that position in 1932 to return to banking, and died in 1951 of coronary thrombosis.