Charles L. McNary

Charles McNary
McNary in 1931
Senate Minority Leader
In office March 4, 1933 – February 25, 1944
Deputy	Felix Hebert Warren Austin[1]
Preceded by	Joseph Taylor Robinson
Succeeded by	Wallace H. White
United States Senator from Oregon
In office December 18, 1918 – February 25, 1944
Preceded by	Frederick W. Mulkey
Succeeded by	Guy Cordon
In office May 29, 1917 – November 5, 1918
Appointed by	James Withycombe
Preceded by	Harry Lane
Succeeded by	Frederick W. Mulkey
Leader of the Senate Republican Conference
In office March 4, 1933 – February 25, 1944
Deputy	Felix Hebert Warren Austin[1]
Preceded by	James E. Watson
Succeeded by	Wallace H. White
Chair of the Senate Republican Conference
In office March 4, 1933 – February 25, 1944
Deputy	Frederick Hale Wallace H. White Jr.
Preceded by	James E. Watson
Succeeded by	Arthur Vandenberg
Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee
In office August 1926 – March 4, 1933
Preceded by	George W. Norris
Succeeded by	Ellison D. Smith
Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
In office 1913–1915
Preceded by	new seat
Succeeded by	Henry L. Benson
Personal details
Born	Charles Linza McNary (1874-06-12)June 12, 1874 Salem, Oregon, U.S.
Died	February 25, 1944(1944-02-25) (aged 69) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jessie Breyman Cornelia Morton
Education	Stanford University

Charles Linza McNary (June 12, 1874 – February 25, 1944) was an American Republican politician from Oregon. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1917 to 1944 and was Senate Minority Leader from 1933 to 1944. In the Senate, McNary helped to pass legislation that led to the construction of Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, and worked on agricultural and forestry issues. He also supported many of the New Deal programs at the beginning of the Great Depression. Until Mark Hatfield surpassed his mark in 1993, he was Oregon's longest-serving senator.

McNary was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1940, on the ticket with presidential candidate Wendell Willkie; both died in 1944, during what would have been their first term had they won. They lost to the Democratic ticket, composed of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was running for his third term as president, and Henry A. Wallace, by just under a ten-point margin.

McNary was a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 1913 to 1915. He had been dean of Willamette University College of Law, in his hometown of Salem, from 1908 to 1913. Before that, he was a deputy district attorney under his brother, John Hugh McNary. John McNary later was appointed as a federal judge for the District of Oregon.

McNary died in office after unsuccessful surgery on a brain tumor. Oregon held a state funeral for him, during which his body lay in state at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. McNary Dam, McNary Field, McNary High School, and McNary Country Club (on land he owned) in Oregon are named in his honor. He continues to have the record as the longest-serving Senate Minority Leader.^[2]