Frank Coombs (politician)

Frank Leslie Coombs (December 27, 1853 – October 5, 1934) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a congressman from California from 1901 to 1903.

Frank Coombs
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 1st district
In office March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1903
Preceded by	John All Barham
Succeeded by	James Gillett
United States Minister to Japan
In office June 13, 1892 – July 14, 1893
President	Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland
Preceded by	John Franklin Swift
Succeeded by	Edwin Dun
28th Speaker of the California State Assembly
In office January 1897 - March 1897
Preceded by	John C. Lynch
Succeeded by	Howard E. Wright
In office January 1891 - March 1891
Preceded by	Robert Howe
Succeeded by	Frank H. Gould
Member of the California State Assembly
In office 1921 - 1931
Preceded by	Bismarck Bruck
Succeeded by	Roy J. Nielsen
Constituency	11th district
In office 1897 - 1899
Preceded by	Owen Wade
Succeeded by	Owen Wade
Constituency	18th district
In office 1887 - 1893
Preceded by	Henry A. Pellet
Succeeded by	Eben B. Owen
Constituency	22nd district
District Attorney of Napa County
In office 1880 - 1885
Personal details
Born	Frank Leslie Coombs (1853-12-27)December 27, 1853 Napa, California, U.S.
Died	October 5, 1934(1934-10-05) (aged 80) Napa, California, U.S.
Resting place	Tulocay Cemetery
Political party	Republican

Early life and education

Frank Leslie Coombs was born in Napa, California, the son of Nathan Coombs and Maria Isabel Gordon. His maternal grandparents were William Gordon (who was a naturalized Mexican citizen originally from Ohio) and Juana Maria Lucero (who was Mexican). Coombs attended the public schools in California and Dorchester High School in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from the law department of Columbian University (now George Washington University Law School), Washington, D.C., in 1875.

Career

Coombs was admitted to the bar in 1875 and commenced practice in Napa. He was the District Attorney of Napa County from 1880 to 1885.

Coombs was a member of the California State Assembly, serving from 1887 to 1893 and 1897 to 1899, each time representing Napa County, and served as Speaker in 1891 and again in 1897. On the death of John F. Swift, he was appointed United States Minister to Japan and served from June 1892 to August 1893. He was the State Librarian of California from April 1, 1898, to April 1, 1899. Coombs was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California from April 1, 1899, to March 1, 1901.

Congress

Coombs was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1901 to March 3, 1903) from the 1st congressional district of California. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1902 in his redrawn district, which had been renumbered as the 2nd congressional district, losing by 49.2% to 48.3% to Democrat Theodore A. Bell.

Later career and death

Coombs resumed the practice of law in Napa, and was again a member of the State Assembly from 1921 to 1931, representing Napa and Lake counties.

He died in Napa at age 80, and was buried in Tulocay Cemetery.

Electoral history

1900

1900 United States House of Representatives elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Coombs	21,227	55.3
	Democratic	James F. Farraher	16,270	42.4
	Social Democratic	William Morgan	599	1.6
	Prohibition	Charles T. Clark	310	0.8
Total votes			38,406	100.0
Turnout
	Republican hold

See also

• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
• Elwood Bruner, for Coombs presiding at a heated Assembly meeting

External links

• United States Congress. "Frank Coombs (id: C000741)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.