Governor Charles Henry Dietrich

CHARLES H. DIETRICH, the twelfth governor of Nebraska, was born in Aurora, Illinois, on November 26, 1853. His education was limited and attained in the public schools of his native state. Dietrich worked numerous odd jobs while traveling to Missouri, South Dakota, and Texas. He eventually settled in Hastings, Nebraska, in 1878, where he founded the German National Bank. He served as the bank’s president from 1887 to 1905. Dietrich first entered politics in 1900, winning the Republican gubernatorial nomination. He was elected governor and sworn into office on January 3, 1901. During his tenure, efforts were made to increase the number of supreme court judges and the codification of state laws was endorsed. Upon his election to the U.S. Senate, Dietrich resigned from the governor’s office on May 1, 1901. He served in his senatorial seat until March 3, 1905, when he then retired from political life. Governor Charles H. Dietrich passed away on April 10, 1924, and was buried in the Parkview Cemetery in Hastings, Nebraska.