September 17, 1831

On this date, Representative Benjamin Brown of Massachusetts died in Waldoboro, Lincoln County, Maine. A physician by training, Brown’s single term of service in the House was unexceptional. However, his service in the Revolutionary War and status as a former prisoner of war made him unique. Brown served as a surgeon aboard the American frigate Boston, commanded by Commodore Samuel Tucker during hostilities with Great Britain. In 1778, Brown was aboard the Boston when it transported John Adams (accompanied by his young son John Quincy Adams) as American minister to France. Three years later, when the Thorne, an American privateer under the command of Commodore Tucker, was captured by the British Navy at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, Brown and the crew were imprisoned on Prince Edward Island. Brown eventually escaped in an open boat and returned to Boston. After a career as a physician, he served three years in the Massachusetts house of representatives before winning election as a Federalist to a U.S. House district encompassing present day Portland, Maine (Maine was part of Massachusetts until it entered the Union in 1820). In the sparsely-populated district, Brown defeated his opponent, Democratic-Republican Abiel Wood, by a count of 984 to 611 votes. Brown, who was not a candidate for re-election in 1816, resided in Waldoboro until his death.

September 18, 1893

On this date, the federal government celebrated the centennial of the laying of the Capitol cornerstone by President George Washington in 1793. Government offices were closed to mark the occasion and a grand procession—retracing the route of Washington and his entourage 100 years earlier—beginning at Lafayette Square and proceeding along Pennsylvania Avenue up to Capitol Hill. At the head of the parade was President Grover Cleveland followed by his Cabinet, Representatives, Senators, members of local Masonic lodges and the Sons of Cincinnati, veterans of the Mexican War and the Civil War, District of Columbia National Guardsmen, and firefighters from around the country. A crowd estimated at 10,000, basking in the clear and comfortable late-summer sunshine, greeted the procession at the Capitol. A reporter for the Boston Globe wrote, “The decorations of the capitol were artistic, but in no way gaudy, and when the ceremonies began an animated picture, full of patriotism, life and beauty, was presented” to onlookers who thronged the broad terrace along the East Front. A 1,500-member chorus, led by the Marine Corps Band, belted out patriotic songs and classical hymns. President Cleveland, William Wirt Henry (grandson of Patrick Henry of Virginia), Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson, and Speaker of the House Charles F. Crisp of Georgia, also addressed the crowd. Crisp reflected on the “marvelous growth” of the nation in the century since Washington had laid the cornerstone. “When that century began,” the Speaker noted, “we were ‘weak’…just struggling into political existence…. Its end finds us strong in resources, strong in wealth and credit, strong in numbers, and strong in the affection of an intelligent and united people.”

September 19, 1940

On this date, newly elected Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn of Texas named Lindsay Warren of North Carolina  temporary House Majority Leader. In the days following the death of Speaker William Bankhead of Alabama, Democrats expected a heated contest to fill the Majority Leader’s position left vacant by Rayburn’s ascension to the Speakership. The party had yet to decide whether it would caucus immediately to select a new leader or if it would wait until the start of the 77th Congress (1941–1943). Rayburn selected Warren to fill the temporary vacancy; Warren, already scheduled to retire from the House to accept a White House appointment, proved to be an ideal interim appointee. The Democratic Caucus met a week later on September 26 and elected John McCormack of Massachusetts Majority Leader over Representative Clifton A. Woodrum of Virginia, 141 to 67. McCormack briefly stated, “I consider it a trust to be exercised in the best interests of the Democratic Party and the country.” McCormack served as Majority Leader for nearly two decades, except for two Congresses when party control of the House switched: 80th Congress (1947–1949) and 83rd Congress (1953–1955). In the 87th Congress (1961–1963), following the death of Speaker Rayburn, McCormack became the 45th Speaker of the House.