Representative Charles Marsh Thomson

Charles Marsh Thomson (February 13, 1877 – December 30, 1943) was an American lawyer, judge, and U.S. Representative from Illinois. A member of the Progressive Party, he served one term in the United States House of Representatives from 1913 to 1915, representing an Illinois district during a significant period in American political and social reform.

Thomson was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 13, 1877. He was educated in the Chicago public schools and at the Chicago Manual Training School, reflecting the city’s growing emphasis on practical and technical education at the turn of the twentieth century. He went on to attend Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1899. Thomson then returned to the Midwest to study law at Northwestern University School of Law in Evanston, Illinois, earning his law degree in 1902.

In 1902 Thomson was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Chicago. Establishing himself in the city’s legal community, he developed a career that would later support both his political and judicial ambitions. His early professional work in Chicago’s courts and legal institutions provided him with practical experience in municipal and state law, and he became increasingly involved in public affairs as the Progressive Era reshaped local and national politics.

Thomson entered elective office at the municipal level, serving on the Chicago City Council as an alderman from the 25th Ward. First elected in 1908, he won reelection in 1910 and again in 1912, holding the position through 1912. As an alderman, he participated in the governance of a rapidly expanding industrial city, engaging in legislative and oversight responsibilities that addressed urban infrastructure, public services, and political reform. His work on the council helped establish his reputation as a Progressive reformer and positioned him for higher office.

Building on his local political experience, Thomson was elected as a Progressive Party candidate to the Sixty-third Congress. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1913, to March 3, 1915. During this single term in Congress, he contributed to the legislative process at a time when the federal government was enacting major reforms in banking, tariffs, and antitrust regulation under President Woodrow Wilson. As a member of the House of Representatives, Thomson participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Illinois constituents within the broader Progressive movement. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Sixty-fourth Congress in 1914, which ended his formal congressional service after one term.

Following his departure from Congress, Thomson remained active in public life. He initially planned to run for mayor of Chicago in 1915 as a Progressive, reflecting his continued engagement with reform politics. However, when William Hale Thompson entered the mayoral race as a Republican, Charles M. Thomson withdrew his candidacy. After William Hale Thompson was elected mayor, he supported Thomson’s subsequent bid for judicial office in Cook County later that year, demonstrating Thomson’s continued influence and connections within Chicago’s political circles.

Thomson’s post-congressional career was distinguished by significant judicial service. In 1915 he was elected judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, one of the most important trial courts in Illinois, and he was reelected to that position in 1921. He was appointed a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court in 1917 and reappointed in 1921, serving on the appellate bench until June 1927. In these roles he participated in the review and interpretation of Illinois law during a period marked by rapid social and economic change. At one point in his legal career, Thomson also served as president of the Chicago Bar Association, underscoring his prominence and leadership within the legal profession. After leaving the appellate court in 1927, he resumed the private practice of law in Chicago.

In the later phase of his career, Thomson extended his expertise into corporate and transportation matters. He served as a trustee of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad from 1933 to 1939, overseeing aspects of the railroad’s operations and financial affairs during the challenging years of the Great Depression. In 1939 he was appointed trustee of the Chicago & North Western Railway, a major Midwestern rail carrier, and he continued in that capacity until his death. Charles Marsh Thomson died on December 30, 1943, while still serving as trustee of the Chicago & North Western Railway. He was interred at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.