John Rankin Gamble

John Rankin Gamble (January 15, 1848 – August 14, 1891) was a lawyer and politician from South Dakota who served as a United States Representative. He was born in Alabama, Genesee County, New York, on January 15, 1848. He was a member of a politically prominent family: his brother was Robert J. Gamble, who later served as a United States Senator from South Dakota, and he was the uncle of Ralph Abernethy Gamble, who would become a United States Representative from New York.

Gamble attended the common schools in New York during his early years. As a youth he moved with his family to Fox Lake, Wisconsin, where he continued his education. He enrolled at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and graduated in 1872. After completing his undergraduate studies, he pursued legal training, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1873.

Following his admission to the bar, Gamble moved to the Dakota Territory and commenced the practice of law in Yankton, which was then one of the principal communities of the territory. He quickly became active in public affairs and legal administration. From 1876 to 1878 he served as district attorney for Yankton County, where he was responsible for prosecuting criminal cases and representing the county in legal matters. In 1878 he was appointed United States attorney for the Dakota Territory, a position in which he represented the federal government in territorial courts.

In addition to his legal work, Gamble played a significant role in the territorial legislature during the formative years of Dakota’s political development. He was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives in 1877 and served there until 1879, participating in the legislative process as the territory grew and its institutions matured. He later served in the Territorial Council, the upper chamber of the territorial legislature, from 1881 to 1885, further solidifying his reputation as a leading territorial statesman.

With the admission of South Dakota to the Union in 1889, Gamble’s long experience in territorial government positioned him for federal office. In 1890 he was elected as a Republican to Seat B, one of two at-large seats representing South Dakota in the United States House of Representatives. He took his seat in the Fifty-second Congress on March 4, 1891, joining the first generation of federal lawmakers from the new state and contributing to the organization of South Dakota’s representation in Washington.

Gamble’s congressional service was cut short by his untimely death. He served in the House of Representatives from March 4, 1891, until he died in Yankton, South Dakota, on August 14, 1891. He was interred in Yankton City Cemetery. His career spanned the transition of Dakota from a frontier territory to statehood, and his family’s continued participation in national politics extended his influence beyond his own brief tenure in Congress.