Earl W. Vincent

Earl W. Vincent (March 27, 1886 – May 22, 1953) was a Republican lawyer, state legislator, United States Representative from Iowa’s 9th congressional district, and later a judge of the fifth judicial district of Iowa. He was born in Washington County, Iowa, near Keota, where he attended rural schools before entering formal secondary education. He graduated from Keota High School in 1904 and pursued higher education at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, receiving his degree in 1909. He then studied law at the University of Iowa College of Law, from which he graduated in 1912.

Upon completion of his legal studies, Vincent was admitted to the bar in 1912 and commenced the practice of law in Guthrie Center, Iowa, a community that would remain his professional and political base for the rest of his life. Building a local reputation as an attorney, he entered public service as prosecuting attorney of Guthrie County, serving in that capacity from 1919 to 1922. His work as county prosecutor helped establish his standing within the Republican Party and introduced him to broader responsibilities in public affairs.

In 1923, Vincent was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives. He served two consecutive two-year terms in the state legislature, with his final term ending in 1927. During these years in the Iowa House, he participated in the legislative work of a period marked by post–World War I economic adjustment and the early stirrings of the agricultural difficulties that would later deepen into the Great Depression, gaining experience in state-level policymaking and party organization.

Vincent’s congressional career arose from an unexpected vacancy. In early 1928, Republican Congressman William R. Green resigned his seat in Iowa’s 9th congressional district after being appointed a federal judge. To fill the remainder of Green’s term in the Seventieth Congress, a special election was called. The Republican nomination was decided by a district convention that required prolonged balloting; after 194 ballots, the convention of ninth district Republicans selected Vincent as their nominee in April 1928. In the special election held on June 4, 1928, he defeated Democratic candidate William J. Burke and took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from June 1928 until March 3, 1929.

Although Vincent sought to continue in Congress, he was unable to secure his party’s nomination for the subsequent full term. At a Republican nominating convention held on July 11, 1928, he led the balloting through most of the proceedings, but after 246 ballots he was narrowly defeated by Charles Swanson, who secured the required number of votes. As a result, Vincent’s service in the House was limited to the unexpired portion of Green’s term, and he left Congress at the close of the Seventieth Congress in March 1929.

After his brief tenure in Congress, Vincent returned to Guthrie Center and resumed the practice of law. He remained active in Republican politics and party affairs, serving as a delegate to the Republican State convention in 1930. Over the following years he continued his legal career, maintaining his role as a prominent attorney in his region and sustaining his connections within Iowa’s legal and political circles.

In February 1945, Vincent’s long legal and public service career culminated in his appointment as judge of the fifth judicial district of Iowa. In this judicial capacity he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters in the district, serving on the bench from his appointment in 1945 until his death. He died in Guthrie Center, Iowa, on May 22, 1953, while still in judicial office. Vincent was interred in Union Cemetery. His papers are preserved at the University of Iowa Special Collections & Archives, providing documentation of his legal practice, legislative service, and brief tenure in the United States Congress.