Name Franklin Glass, Role Politician | Died January 10, 1934 | |
Franklin Potts Glass Sr. (June 7, 1858 – January 10, 1934) was an American Democratic politician, newspaper publisher and editor, and United States Senator-Designate from Alabama.
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Background
Born in Centreville, Alabama, Glass graduated from Princeton University in 1877. Returning to Alabama, he founded the newspaper the Bibb Blade in Bibb County, Alabama, in 1880. In 1881, Glass bought the Selma Daily News in Selma, Alabama. He bought a share of the Montgomery Advertiser in Montgomery, Alabama and became the editor and publisher. Glass eventually moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he was the editor and publisher of the Birmingham News.
Appointment to the United States Senate
In 1913, United States Senator Joseph F. Johnston died in office. The Governor of Alabama Emmet O'Neal appointed Glass to the United States Senate. Glass was a Democrat. However, on February 4, 1914, the United States Senate voted 32-31 to uphold the Committee of Elections and Privileges recommendation to deny Glass a seat, because the recent ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution supported Alabama state law that the Governor of Alabama had to call a special election to fill the vacancy.
Railroad Labor Mediation Board
In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Glass to the Railroad Labor Mediation Board. While traveling from Washington D.C. to Memphis, Tennessee to hear railroad mediation cases, Glass caught a cold. He died in Birmingham, Alabama on January 10, 1934 as a result of the cold.