John R. Thayer

For other people with the same name, see John Thayer.

John Randolph Thayer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1905
Preceded byJoseph H. Walker
Succeeded byRockwood Hoar
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office
1890-1891
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office
1880-1881
Personal details
Born(1845-03-09)March 9, 1845
Douglas, Massachusetts
DiedDecember 19, 1916(1916-12-19) (aged 71)
Worcester, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Charlotte D. Holmes
​
(m. 1872)​
Alma materYale College
ProfessionLawyer
Signature

John Randolph Thayer (March 9, 1845 – December 19, 1916) was a representative from Massachusetts. He was born in Douglas, Massachusetts, and attended the common schools and Nichols Academy in Dudley.[1][2]

Thayer graduated from Yale College in 1869 where he studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1871 and commenced practice in Worcester, Massachusetts. There, he served on the city council from 1874 to 1876 and was elected an alderman from 1878 to 1880.[2]

He married Charlotte D. Holmes on January 30, 1872, and they had six children.[1][3]

After unsuccessfully running for district attorney in 1876, he was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1880 and 1881. He then ran for mayor of Worcester in 1886 without winning. He did serve in the State Senate from 1890 to 1891.[1] After losing an election in 1892 to the 53rd United States Congress he was elected as a Democrat to the 56th, 57th, and 58th Congresses, serving from March 4, 1899, until March 3, 1905).[4] Thayer did not seek reelection in 1904 but resumed his law practice in Worcester.[2] He died there on December 19, 1916, and was buried at the Rural Cemetery.[5]

  1. ^ a b c Bacon, Edwin M., ed. (1896). Men of Progress: One Thousand Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Leaders in Business and Professional Life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Boston: The New England Magazine. pp. 350–351. Retrieved January 21, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b c Gates, Merrill E., ed. (1906). Men of Mark in America. Vol. II. Washington, D.C.: Men of Mark Publishing Company. pp. 347–349. Retrieved January 21, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Rice, Franklin Pierce (1899). Worcester of eighteen hundred and ninety-eight: fifty years a city. Worcester, MA: F. S. Blanchard & Company, Publishers. p. 775. Retrieved January 21, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ "S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. November 9, 1903. p. 48. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  5. ^ "Ex-Congressman John R. Thayer Dead". The Boston Globe. Worcester. December 19, 1916. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved January 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.