Appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt Preceded by Elijah S. Grammer Name Homer Bone Party Democratic Party Succeeded by Warren Magnuson | Preceded by Bert E. Haney Political party Democratic Spouse Blanche Slye (m. 1918) Previous office Senator (WA) 1933–1944 Resigned November 13, 1944 | |
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Born January 25, 1883
Franklin, Indiana ( 1883-01-25 ) Role Former United States Senator Died March 11, 1970, Tacoma, Washington, United States | ||
Homer Truett Bone (January 25, 1883 – March 11, 1970) was a United States federal judge and Senator from Washington.
Born in Franklin, Indiana, Bone and his family moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1899. Bone attended Tacoma Law School and was admitted to the Bar in 1911. He specialized in labor law, and served as an assistant special prosecutor for Pierce County in 1912, as the Corporate Counsel for the Port of Tacoma from 1918 to 1932, and as an attorney for Tacoma City Light. In 1918, he married Blanche Slye. Bone ran unsuccessfully for prosecuting attorney and Mayor of Tacoma as a Socialist, and for the Third District Congressional seat as a Farmer-Labor candidate. In 1922 Bone served in the Washington State House, where he advocated for the ability of local government to form public utility districts. In 1928 Bone again ran unsuccessfully for Congress, this time as a Republican.
In 1932, Bone finally won election to the United States Senate, this time as a Democrat, and served from 1933-1944. He continued his advocacy for public owned power, and other progressive causes. He supported creation of the Bonneville Dam and the Grand Coulee Dam. Regarding World War II, Bone was an isolationist. Bone, along with senator Matthew Neely and representative Warren Magnuson, wrote the legislation which created the National Cancer Institute.
On April 1, 1944, Bone was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by Bert E. Haney. Bone was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 1, 1944, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on January 1, 1956. He returned to the private practice of law, in San Francisco, California, from 1956 to 1968, and died in Tacoma in 1970.