Representative Herman Philip Goebel

Herman Philip Goebel (April 5, 1853 – May 4, 1930) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Republican politician who served four terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1903 to 1911. He was born in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, where he attended the public schools, laying the foundation for a lifelong career in law and public service closely tied to his native city and state.

Goebel pursued legal studies at the Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated in 1872. Following his formal legal education, he continued his preparation for the bar and was admitted to practice law in 1874. He then commenced the practice of law in Cincinnati, establishing himself professionally in the city where he had been born and educated.

Goebel’s public career began at the state level. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives and served as a member of the state house in 1875 and 1876. His early legislative experience in Columbus introduced him to the workings of representative government and the legislative process. He later advanced to the judiciary, serving as judge of the probate court of Hamilton County from 1884 to 1890, a position in which he oversaw matters relating to estates, wills, and guardianships, and further solidified his reputation as a capable lawyer and public official.

Building on his state legislative and judicial experience, Goebel was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-eighth Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from March 4, 1903, to March 4, 1911. During these four consecutive terms in the House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative process during a significant period in American history, representing the interests of his Ohio constituents in the national legislature. His service coincided with the early twentieth-century Progressive Era, and as a member of the House he took part in the democratic process that shaped federal policy in those years. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1910 to the Sixty-second Congress, which brought his congressional career to a close in March 1911.

After leaving Congress, Goebel returned to Cincinnati and resumed the practice of law. He continued to engage in his profession there, remaining active in legal work until his death. Goebel died in Cincinnati on May 4, 1930, and was interred in Spring Grove Cemetery, one of the city’s principal burial grounds, thus concluding a life spent largely in service to his native community and state.