Medill McCormick

"Senator McCormick" redirects here. For other uses, seeSenator McCormick (disambiguation).

This article is about the American politician. For other people, seeJoseph McCormick (disambiguation).

Medill McCormick
McCormick in 1912
United States Senator fromIllinois
In office March 4, 1919 – February 25, 1925
Preceded by	J. Hamilton Lewis
Succeeded by	Charles S. Deneen
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois'sat-largedistrict
In office March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1919
Preceded by	Burnett M. Chiperfield
Succeeded by	Richard Yates
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
In office 1913–1917
Personal details
Born	Joseph Medill McCormick (1877-05-16)May 16, 1877 Chicago,Illinois, U.S.
Died	February 25, 1925(1925-02-25)(aged 47) Washington, D.C.,U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ruth Hanna ​ (m.1903)​
Children	3, includingBazy
Parent(s)	Robert Sanderson McCormick Katherine Medill
Alma mater	Yale University

Joseph Medill McCormick(May 16, 1877 – February 25, 1925) was part of theMcCormick familyof businessmen and politicians inChicago.After working as a publisher for some time and becoming part owner of theChicago Tribune,which his maternal grandfather had owned, he entered politics.

After serving in the State House, he was elected both as aRepresentativein the United States Congress and later as aUS SenatorfromIllinois.

Early life

Joseph Medill McCormick was born inChicagoon May 16, 1877. His father wasRobert Sanderson McCormick(1849–1919), a future diplomat and nephew of industrialistCyrus McCormick.

McCormick was an early pupil atLudgrove Schoolwhen his father was based in Europe.He later attended theGroton School,a preparatory school atGroton, Massachusetts.He graduated fromYale Universityin 1900, where he was elected to the secret societyScroll and Key.

He worked as a newspaper reporter and publisher, and became an owner of theChicago Daily Tribune.He later purchased interests inThe Cleveland LeaderandCleveland News.In 1901 he served as awar correspondentin thePhilippine Islands.

Marriage and family

In 1903 he marriedRuth Hanna,daughter of the Ohio SenatorMark Hanna.They had three children:

• Ruth "Bazy" McCormick,(1921–2013) who married Peter Miller and then Garvin Tankersley. As Bazy Miller, she foundedAl-Marah Arabians,a breeding and training farm forArabian horsesformerly inTucson, Arizona,which operates in Florida, under the ownership of her son, Mark Miller.
• Katrina McCormick (1913–2011), who married Courtlandt Dixon Barnes Jr.
• John Medill McCormick, called "Johnny", died in a mountain-climbing accident in 1938.

TheChicago Tribune

McCormick was a grandson of theTribuneownerJoseph Medill.His mother Katherine Medill McCormick hoped that leadership of the paper would pass from her brother-in-law,Robert Wilson Patterson,to her first son. Joseph Medill McCormick took over much of the management of the paper between 1903 and 1907, but became increasingly depressed and developedalcoholism.In 1907–1908, he spent some time under the care of the psychoanalystCarl Jungin Zurich, and subsequently followed Jung's advice to detach himself from the family newspaper.

His younger brother, the famed"Colonel" Robert McCormick(1880–1955) became involved in the newspaper, worked closely on it for four decades, and was a leading isolationist figure in the Republican Party.

Political career

McCormick was vice chairman of the national campaign committee of theProgressive Republicanmovement from 1912 to 1914. He was elected to theIllinois House of Representativesin 1912 and 1914.

Afterward he advanced to national office, being elected to theUnited States House of Representatives,where he served one term from March 4, 1917, to March 3, 1919. He was elected to theUnited States Senatein1918,and served from March 4, 1919, until his death at age 48 in 1925. In the Senate, McCormick was chairman of theCommittee on Expenditures in the Department of Laborand theCommittee on Expenditures in Executive Departments.

In theprimary electionof1924,McCormick lost the Republican U.S. Senate nomination toCharles S. Deneen,who had previously served as the23rd Governor of Illinois.Deenen defeated McCormick by a narrow 0.69% margin (only 5,944 votes).

Death

McCormick died on February 25, 1925, in his hotel suite at theHamilton HotelinWashington, D.C.Although it was not publicized at the time, his death was considered to be asuicide.At the time of his death, McCormick was about to leave office. His reelection loss is believed to have contributed to his apparent suicide.

See also

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

References

• American National Biography
• Dictionary of American Biography
• Miller, Kristie. Ruth Hanna McCormick: A Life in Politics from 1880 to 1944. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1992
• Stone, Ralph A. "Two Illinois Senators Among the Irreconcileables." Mississippi Valley Historical Review 50 (December 1963): 443–65.

External links

• Media related toJoseph M. McCormickat Wikimedia Commons
• Newspaper clippings about Medill McCormickin the20th Century Press Archivesof theZBW