Background
Thomas Ellsworth Martin was born on January 18, 1893, in Melrose, United States.
accountant lawyer politician representative senator
Thomas Ellsworth Martin was born on January 18, 1893, in Melrose, United States.
Thomas Martin attended various public schools in Monroe County and in the town of Russell, graduating from Albia High School. He then attended the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa), graduating in 1916 with a degree in accounting. He completed a law degree at the State University of Iowa in 1927 and a Master of Laws from Columbia in 1928.
Thomas Martin worked briefly for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, as a sales analyst and accountant. After the war, he again worked briefly for Goodyear. Thomas Martin moved back to Iowa City in 1920, where he lived for the next 40 years. He was an assistant professor of military science and tactics at the State University of Iowa from 1921 to 1923. He also worked as an accountant during the 1920s.
Thomas Martin was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1927 and became a practicing attorney in Iowa City. He became active in many civic activities, including memberships in the American Legion, Masonic Lodge, and Elks, and he served as president of the Chamber of Commerce.
Thomas Martin was a Republican nominee for state commerce commissioner in 1932 and 1934 but was defeated both times. In March 1933 Republican Harry D. Breene was overwhelmingly elected mayor of Iowa City, defeating the Democratic administration. Breene immediately made a series of appointments to city offices that included Martin as a city attorney. Thomas Martin served as a city attorney for the next two years. In 1935, when Breene announced he would not run for reelection, Thomas Martin announced his candidacy. The campaign was contentious, with he staunchly supporting the establishment of a municipal electric light plant for the city. He was overwhelmingly elected and served until 1937. Thomas Martin did not seek reelection.
The following year Thomas Martin sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa’s First Congressional District. He was elected over his Democratic opponent by a vote of 46,636 to 33,765. He ran successfully for reelection in 1940, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1948, 1950, and 1952. Thomas Martin ran unopposed in the Republican primary three times and always won the general election by margins similar to that of his first victory. In the House, he served on the Military Affairs and Ways and Means committees, and the Subcommittee on Administration of the Internal Revenue Service.
In March 1953 Thomas Martin announced that he would run for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Democrat Guy Gillette, which would expire in January 1955. The odds were against Martin at first. Then-Governor William Beardsley announced he would not run, and no other prominent Republican got into the race, perhaps because Gillette had served as U.S. senator for three terms and was the most popular Democratic vote-getter in years. Nevertheless, in a barnstorming campaign in which he traveled 165,000 miles, Thomas Martin defeated Gillette on Election Day. Thomas Martin’s entry into the Senate brought some changes in his views. While in the House, he had been a strong opponent of foreign aid, but in the Senate, he suddenly shifted to the strong support of foreign aid. His stated reason was that President Eisenhower needed it as a foreign policy tool and that congressional support for the president was necessary.
In February 1959 Thomas Martin was embroiled in some controversy when it was revealed that both his wife and son were on his staff payroll and that his overall payroll was significantly higher than that of Iowa’s other senator, Bourke Hickenlooper. When Martin defended himself by stating that it was none of the public’s business and initially refused to submit any information, the Des Moines Register roundly criticized his conduct. Several months later Thomas Martin made full disclosure, and the controversy died down.
In January 1960 Thomas Martin announced that he would not be a candidate for reelection, and he retired in January 1961 to Seattle, where his daughter and her family lived.
Thomas Martin died on June 27, 1971, and was buried in Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon.
Thomas Martin was active in many civic activities, including memberships in the American Legion, Masonic Lodge, and Elks, and he served as president of the Chamber of Commerce.
Thomas Martin married Dorris Brownlee of Waterloo on June 5, 1920. They had two children, Richard and Dorris.