Gilbert Hitchcock

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Gilbert Monell Hitchcock (September 18, 1859 – February 3, 1934) was an American lawyer, newspaper founder, and Democratic politician from Nebraska. Born in Omaha, he studied law at the University of Michigan and began practicing in Omaha. He started and edited the Omaha Evening World, later buying the Nebraska Morning Herald and combining them into the Omaha World-Herald, which became his lasting project.

Hitchcock served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska’s 2nd district (1903–1905 and 1907–1911). He then won a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1911, becoming the first Democrat to serve as a Senator from Nebraska. He was re-elected in 1916, the first Nebraskan to be popular-elected to the Senate after the 17th Amendment.

In the Senate, he chaired several key committees: the Philippines (1913–1918), Foreign Relations (1918–1919), and Forest Reservations and Game Protection (1919–1921). As chair of Foreign Relations, Hitchcock was a strong advocate for the League of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles. He also served as Acting Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus from 1919 to 1920.

Hitchcock lost his bid for a third term in 1922 to Republican Robert B. Howell. After leaving the Senate, he returned to newspaper work and later tried to return in 1930 but was defeated by George W. Norris. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1934 and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Omaha.

Personal life: He married Jessie Crounse in 1883; she died in 1925. He married Martha Harris in 1927. His daughter Margaret married Henry Doorly, who later led the Omaha World-Herald. He was the son of U.S. Senator Phineas Warren Hitchcock, and his family connections included Lorenzo Crounse as his father-in-law. Hitchcock Elementary School and Hitchcock Park in Omaha bear his name. His papers are housed at the Library of Congress and the Nebraska State Historical Society, and he was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 1984.