Henry Riggs Rathbone

Henry Riggs Rathbone (February 12, 1870 – July 15, 1928) was a Republican Representative from Illinois who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1923 until his death in 1928. Over the course of three terms in Congress, he represented Illinois’s at-large congressional district and participated actively in the legislative process during a significant period in American political and economic history, advocating for the interests of his constituents and contributing to the work of the House of Representatives.

Rathbone was born in Washington, D.C., to Brevet Colonel Henry Reed Rathbone and Clara (Harris) Rathbone. His family was closely connected to prominent political figures of the nineteenth century. His maternal grandfather, Ira Harris, served as a United States Senator from New York, while his paternal grandfather, Jared Lewis Rathbone, was the first elected mayor of Albany, New York. His parents were present as guests in the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, an event that left a lasting mark on the Rathbone family’s history.

In 1882, Rathbone moved with his family to Hanover, Germany. The following year, in 1883, a family tragedy occurred when his father murdered his mother and attempted to take his own life. His father was subsequently confined to an asylum for the criminally insane in Hildesheim. After this incident, Henry and his siblings were returned to the United States, where they were raised by their uncle, William Harris. Despite this traumatic early experience, Rathbone pursued a rigorous education and prepared for a professional career in law and public service.

Rathbone attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, graduating in 1888. He then enrolled at Yale University, where he completed his undergraduate studies in 1892. Following Yale, he studied law at the University of Wisconsin, graduating from its law department in 1894. After his admission to the bar, he commenced the practice of law in Chicago, Illinois, establishing himself in the legal profession in one of the nation’s major urban and commercial centers.

Rathbone’s legal career in Chicago provided the foundation for his later involvement in politics. Active in Republican Party affairs, he emerged as a party leader and was chosen as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1916, which nominated Charles Evans Hughes for the presidency. His work within the party and his professional standing in Illinois helped position him for national office, and he became increasingly engaged in the political issues of the early twentieth century, including those affecting his adopted state.

In 1922, Rathbone was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Illinois’s at-large congressional district. He entered Congress at the start of the Sixty-eighth Congress in 1923 and was subsequently reelected, serving three terms in total. His tenure in the House coincided with the post–World War I era and the 1920s economic expansion, a period marked by debates over tariffs, agricultural policy, veterans’ issues, and federal regulation. As a member of the House of Representatives, Henry Riggs Rathbone participated in the democratic process, contributed to the legislative work of Congress, and represented the interests of his Illinois constituents in national affairs.

In addition to his service in Congress, Rathbone maintained close ties to his home state and to the community of Illinoisans living in the nation’s capital. He served for one year as president of the Illinois State Society of Washington, D.C., a civic and social organization that fostered connections among Illinois residents and officials in Washington. He held this position until his death, reflecting his continued engagement with both state and national public life.

Henry Riggs Rathbone died in office on July 15, 1928, while still serving as a Representative from Illinois. His death brought an end to a congressional career that had spanned the better part of a decade and concluded a life shaped by both personal tragedy and public service. He is remembered as a member of a historically significant American family who, through his legal work and his three terms in the House of Representatives, contributed to the governance of the United States during a transformative period in its history.