David Bremner Henderson | |
|---|---|
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| 34th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives | |
| In office December 4, 1899 – March 3, 1903 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas B. Reed |
| Succeeded by | Joseph G. Cannon |
| Leader of the House Republican Conference | |
| In office December 4, 1899 – March 3, 1903 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Brackett Reed |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Gurney Cannon |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 3rd district | |
| In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1903 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Updegraff |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin P. Birdsall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 14, 1840 Old Deer, Scotland |
| Died | February 25, 1906 (aged 65) Dubuque, Iowa, United States |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Upper Iowa University |
| Profession | Law |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Union Army |
| Rank | .svg){kind=small} Colonel |
| Unit | Company C, 12th Iowa Infantry Regiment 46th Iowa Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | |
David Bremner Henderson (March 14, 1840 – February 25, 1906) was an American attorney, Civil War veteran and Republican Party politician who served as the 34th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1899 to 1903. He represented Iowa in the House from 1883 to 1903. He was the first Speaker from west of the Mississippi River, the second foreign-born Speaker (after Charles Frederick Crisp), the only Speaker from Iowa, and the last Speaker who was a veteran of the Civil War.
Henderson was born in Old Deer, Scotland in 1840 and emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1846. After settling in Winnebago County, Illinois, the family relocated to Clermont in Fayette County, Iowa in 1849. He enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Fort Donelson and Second Battle of Corinth. After he was mustered out in 1864, Henderson started a legal practice in Dubuque, Iowa in 1865. From 1869 to 1871, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa.
In 1882, Henderson was elected as a Republican to represent Iowa's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. In 1889, he stood for Speaker of the House but finished behind Thomas Brackett Reed and William McKinley. From 1891 to 1895, he was the ranking Republican member of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations. When Republicans regained control of the House in the 1894 elections, Reed passed him over in favor of Joseph Gurney Cannon as committee chair, and Henderson was instead made chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary from 1895 to 1899. However, following Reed's resignation from the House in 1899, Henderson was elected to succeed him as Speaker. In 1902, Henderson abruptly abandoned his campaign for re-election to the House, and he was succeeded by Cannon as Speaker in 1903.