Alfred B. Kittredge

Alfred Beard Kittredge (March 28, 1861Template:Spaced ndashMay 4, 1911) was a United States senator from South Dakota.

Early life and education

Kittredge was born in Nelson, New Hampshire, the son of Russell H. Kittredge, a physician, and Laura Frances (Holmes) Kittredge.Template:Sfn He was raised and educated in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.Template:Sfn Kittredge graduated from Yale College in 1882 and studied law with Wheelock G. Veazey of Rutland, Vermont and at the firm of Bachelder and Faulkner in Keene, New Hampshire.Template:Sfn He then attended Yale Law School, from which he graduated in 1885.Template:Sfn He was admitted to the bar in 1885 and commenced practice in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.Template:Sfn While establishing himself as an attorney, Kittredge became the Sioux Falls correspondent for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, a leading Republican newspaper, which enabled him to develop personal and professional contacts that proved useful during his political career.Template:Sfn

Political career

A Republican, Kittredge served as chairman of the party in Minnehaha County.Template:Sfn He was twice elected to the South Dakota Senate, and served from 1889 to 1893.Template:Sfn He was a member of the Republican National Committee from 1892 to 1899.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

In 1901, Kittredge was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James H. Kyle.Template:Sfn He was elected to a full term in 1903,Template:Sfn and served from July 11, 1901 to March 3, 1909.Template:Sfn While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Select Committee on Standards, Weights and Measures (57th Congress), the Committee on Patents (58th and 59th Congresses), and the Committee on Interoceanic Canals (60th Congress).Template:Sfn His committee on canals was in part responsible for the selection of Panama over Nicaragua as the location for construction of a canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Kittredge was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1908.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn After leaving the Senate, he resumed the practice of law in Sioux Falls.Template:Sfn

Later life

In his later years, Kittredge's weight exceeded 300 pounds, and he began to experience health problems.Template:Sfn In October 1910, he became chronically ill after overexerting himself while walking from the courthouse to his offices in cold weather.Template:Sfn His doctors recommended that he end his law practice and business affairs, and Kittredge returned to Jaffrey to live in retirement.Template:Sfn

Death and burial

In February 1911, Kittredge traveled to Hot Springs, Arkansas in hopes of recovering his health.Template:Sfn He continued to decline, and became comatose in late April. He died in Hot Springs on May 4, 1911.Template:Sfn He was buried at Conant Cemetery in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.Template:Sfn Kittredge never married, and had no children.Template:Sfn

External links

• Template:PAGENAMEBASE at Find a GraveTemplate:EditAtWikidata
• Template:Internet Archive author