Thomas Rolph

Thomas Rolph (January 17, 1885 – May 10, 1956) was a United States Representative from California and a member of the Republican Party who served in Congress from 1941 to 1945. He was born in San Francisco, California, where he spent his early life in a family that would become prominent in state and local politics. His older brother, James Rolph Jr., was elected Mayor of San Francisco in 1911 and held that office until he was elected Governor of California in 1930, a connection that placed Thomas Rolph in close proximity to the political and civic affairs of the city and state from an early age.

Rolph was educated in the public schools of San Francisco and attended Humboldt Evening High School, from which he graduated. His education in the city’s public system reflected the opportunities available to working- and middle-class families in early twentieth-century San Francisco, and his evening high school studies suggest that he combined formal education with early participation in the workforce.

In 1912, Rolph founded a building materials sales agency in San Francisco. He headed this enterprise for the rest of his life, building a long career in the business community before, during, and after his time in public office. Through this work he became familiar with the construction and development needs of a rapidly growing urban region, experience that informed his later legislative interests and his understanding of economic and infrastructure issues affecting his constituents.

Rolph entered national politics as a Republican and was elected to the Seventy-seventh Congress, taking office on January 3, 1941, as a Representative from California. He was reelected to the Seventy-eighth Congress and served continuously from January 3, 1941, to January 3, 1945, completing two terms in the United States House of Representatives. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the nation’s entry into and participation in World War II. As a member of the House of Representatives, Thomas Rolph contributed to the legislative process, participated in the democratic governance of the country, and represented the interests of his California constituents during a time of global conflict and domestic mobilization.

In 1944, Rolph was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Seventy-ninth Congress, bringing his formal congressional career to a close at the start of 1945. After leaving office on January 3, 1945, he returned to San Francisco and resumed full-time leadership of his building materials sales agency, continuing in that role until his death. Remaining active in business, he maintained his longstanding ties to the local community and the economic life of the region.

Thomas Rolph died in San Francisco on May 10, 1956. He was interred at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, San Mateo County, California. His career combined entrepreneurship with public service, reflecting both his family’s political legacy and his own long-standing engagement in the commercial development of the San Francisco Bay Area.