Preceded by J. Hamilton Lewis Preceded by Burnett M. Chiperfield Political party Republican Name Joseph McCormick | Succeeded by Charles S. Deneen Succeeded by Richard Yates Alma mater Yale University Siblings Robert R. McCormick | |
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Born May 16, 1877
Chicago, Illinois ( 1877-05-16 ) Role Former United States Senator Died February 25, 1925, Washington, D.C., United States Spouse Ruth Hanna McCormick (m. 1903) Parents Robert Sanderson McCormick Education Yale University, Groton School Similar People Ruth Hanna McCormick, Robert Sanderson McCormick, Robert R McCormick, Mark Hanna, Albert G Simms | ||
Joseph Medill McCormick, known as Medill McCormick (May 16, 1877 – February 25, 1925), was part of the McCormick family of businessmen and politicians in Chicago. After working for some time and becoming part owner of the Chicago Tribune, which his maternal grandfather had owned, he entered politics.
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After serving in the State House, he was elected both as a Representative in the United States Congress and later as a US Senator from Illinois. He committed suicide at age 48, a few months after losing his bid for renomination to a second term in the Senate.
Early life
Joseph Medill McCormick was born in Chicago on May 16, 1877. His father was the future diplomat Robert Sanderson McCormick (1849–1919), who was a nephew of Cyrus McCormick.
McCormick attended the Groton School, a preparatory school at Groton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University in 1900, where he was elected to the secret society Scroll and Key.
He worked as a newspaper reporter and publisher, and became an owner of the Chicago Daily Tribune. He later purchased interests in The Cleveland Leader and Cleveland News. In 1901 he served as a war correspondent in the Philippine Islands.
Marriage and family
In 1903 he married Ruth Hanna, daughter of the Ohio Senator Mark Hanna. They had three children:
The Chicago Tribune
McCormick was the grandson of the Tribune owner Joseph Medill. His mother Katherine Medill McCormick hoped that leadership of the paper would pass from her brother-in-law, Robert Wilson Patterson, to her first son. Joseph McCormick took over much of the management of the paper between 1903 and 1907, but became increasingly depressed and developed alcoholism. In 1907–1908, he spent some time under the care of the psychoanalyst Carl Jung in Zurich, and subsequently followed Jung's advice to detach himself from the family newspaper.
His younger brother Robert Rutherford McCormick (1880–1955) became involved in the newspaper, and worked closely on it for four decades.
Political career
McCormick was vice chairman of the national campaign committee of the Progressive Republican movement from 1912 to 1914. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1912 and 1914.
Afterward he advanced to national office, being elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served one term from March 4, 1917 to March 3, 1919. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1918, and served from March 4, 1919 until his death at age 48 in 1925. In the Senate, McCormick was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Labor and the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments.
McCormick lost the nomination in 1924 to Charles S. Deneen. He died on February 25, 1925 in a hotel room in Washington, DC. Although it was kept quiet at the time, his death was considered suicide. McCormick was interred in Middle Creek Cemetery, near Byron, Illinois.