34 Facts About Boies Penrose

Boies Penrose was an American politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who served as a Republican member of the United States Senate for Pennsylvania from 1897 to 1921.

Boies Penrose served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the Philadelphia County district in 1885.

Boies Penrose served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 6th district in 1897 and as President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate from 1889 to 1891.

Boies Penrose was the most powerful political operative in Pennsylvania for 17 years, supported Warren Harding in his nomination for US president, and added the oil depletion allowance into the Revenue Act of 1913 to benefit oil producers.

Boies Penrose was the longest-serving US Senator from Pennsylvania until Arlen Specter surpassed his record in 2005.

Boies Penrose was born on November 1,1860, in Philadelphia, one of seven sons, to Dr Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose and Sarah Hannah Boies.

Boies Penrose was born into a prominent Old Philadelphian family of Cornish descent.

Boies Penrose was a grandson of Speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate Charles B Penrose and brother of gynecologist Charles Bingham Penrose and mining entrepreneurs Richard and Spencer Penrose.

Boies Penrose was a descendant of the prominent Biddle family of Philadelphia.

Boies Penrose was almost expelled from Harvard due to poor academics but was able to improve his grades by Senior year.

Boies Penrose served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for Philadelphia County in 1885, and was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 6th district in 1886.

Boies Penrose served as president pro tempore from 1889 to 1891.

Boies Penrose was forced to withdraw from the race when his Democrat opponent released a photo of Penrose leaving a brothel at three o'clock in the morning.

Boies Penrose was a dominant member of the Senate Finance Committee and supported high protective tariffs.

Boies Penrose had served on the United States Senate Committee on Banking, United States Senate Committee on Naval Affairs, United States Senate Committee on Post Office and Post Roads, United States Senate Committee on Education and Labor, and United States Senate Committee on Immigration.

Boies Penrose consistently supported "pro-business" policies, and opposed labor reform and women's rights.

Boies Penrose created the development of "squeeze bills", in which he would have Pennsylvania colleagues enter bills into the Pennsylvania legislature that were negative toward major industries, such as railroads and banks, and promised to remove the bills after receiving sufficient political contributions from those industries.

Boies Penrose was elected Chairman of the State Republican Party in 1903, succeeding fellow Senator Matthew Quay.

Boies Penrose was the most powerful political operative in Pennsylvania for the next 17 years and enabled figures like Richard Baldwin to advance through loyalty to his organization.

Boies Penrose was a major supporter of Warren Harding, and helped the Ohio Senator win the 1920 Republican nomination.

In 1912, Boies Penrose was forced out of power by the progressive faction of the party led by William Flinn.

Boies Penrose did not stand for re-election to his national committee post.

However, following Flinn's departure from the party to support Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party, Boies Penrose was able to garner enough support to return to his post as national committeeman and would remain in the position until his death.

In 1914, Boies Penrose faced his first direct election.

Boies Penrose publicly campaigned for the first time in his life and defeated Democrat A Mitchell Palmer and Progressive Gifford Pinchot.

Boies Penrose was six foot four inches tall and was nicknamed "Big Grizzly".

Boies Penrose had a huge appetite and was known to have a dozen eggs at breakfast and a full turkey at lunch.

Boies Penrose won a $1,000 bet in an eating contest of 50 oysters and a quart of bourbon that sent his opponent to the hospital.

Boies Penrose did not like people watching him eat and had screens set up to provide privacy when he dined at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia.

An avid outdoorsman, Boies Penrose enjoyed mountain exploration and big-game hunting.

Boies Penrose was one of the 100 original members of the Boone and Crockett Club.

Boies Penrose never married and was known to boast of his love of prostitutes, stating that he didn't "believe in hypocrisy".

Boies Penrose died on December 31,1921, in his Wardman Park penthouse suite in Washington, DC in the last hour of 1921, after suffering a pulmonary thrombosis.

Boies Penrose was interred in the Penrose family grave section of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.