Representative Linwood Leon Clark

Linwood Leon Clark (March 21, 1876 – November 18, 1965) was a United States Representative who represented the second congressional district of Maryland from 1929 to 1931. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term in Congress during a significant period in American history, participating in the legislative process and representing the interests of his Maryland constituents at the outset of the Great Depression.

Clark was born on March 21, 1876, in Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland. He attended the public schools in his native state, receiving his early education in the local school system. Seeking broader academic opportunities, he left Maryland for preparatory study in New England and graduated in 1899 from Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, an institution known for its rigorous college-preparatory curriculum.

After completing his secondary education, Clark pursued higher studies at several institutions. He attended the American University of Harriman in Harriman, Tennessee, graduating in 1902. He then returned to Maryland to study law and enrolled in the law department of the University of Maryland, from which he graduated in 1904. That same year, he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Baltimore, Maryland. Demonstrating an interest in the intersection of law, business, and infrastructure, he later completed a course in railway transportation at La Salle Extension University in 1919, adding specialized knowledge in a field of growing economic importance in the early twentieth century.

On July 24, 1907, Clark married Linnie Habersank. The couple had two children. During these years, Clark continued to build his legal practice in Baltimore, establishing himself professionally while also becoming increasingly active in public affairs and Republican Party politics in Maryland.

Clark first sought national office in 1926, when he ran unsuccessfully for election to the United States House of Representatives. Undeterred by this initial defeat, he again stood as the Republican candidate for Maryland’s 2nd congressional district in the 1928 election. In that contest he was successful, and he served one term in the Seventy-first Congress from March 4, 1929, to March 3, 1931. As a Republican representative from Maryland, Clark contributed to the legislative process during a period marked by the stock market crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression, taking part in the democratic process and advocating for the interests of his district. In 1930, he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to Congress.

Following his departure from the House of Representatives, Clark resumed the practice of law in Baltimore. His legal career advanced further when he was appointed or elected to the judiciary, serving as judge of the circuit court of Maryland for the fifth judicial district from 1935 to 1938. In this capacity, he participated in the administration of justice at the state level during the mid-1930s, a period of significant legal and social change as Maryland and the nation responded to the challenges of the Depression era.

After completing his judicial service, Clark continued his legal work and later practiced law in Annapolis, Maryland. He remained professionally active into his later years. Linwood Leon Clark died in Annapolis on November 18, 1965. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, closing a long career in law and public service that spanned private practice, a term in the United States Congress, and service on the Maryland circuit court bench.