- Charles Nagel
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Charles Nagel 4th US Secretary of Commerce and Labor In office
March 6, 1909 – March 4, 1913Preceded by Oscar S. Straus Succeeded by (none) Personal details Born August 9, 1849
Colorado County, Texas, U.S.Died January 5, 1940 (aged 90)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.Political party Republican Spouse(s) Fannie Brandeis Nagel
Anne Shepley NagelAlma mater Washington University School of Law
University of BerlinProfession Politician, Lawyer Charles Nagel (August 9, 1849 – January 5, 1940) was a United States politician and lawyer from St. Louis, Missouri. He was Secretary of Commerce and Labor during President William Howard Taft's administration (1909–1913).
Biography
Born August 9, 1849, in Colorado County, Texas, to Dr. Hermann and Friedericke Litzmann Nagel, Charles Nagel moved to a boarding school in St. Louis, Missouri, for high school and stayed to study law at Washington University Law School. He graduated with his law degree in 1872. Nagel furthered his education by traveling to Europe and learning political economy at the University of Berlin.
Returning to St. Louis in 1873, Nagel joined the state bar and began to practice law. He was a member of the firm Finkelnburg, Nagel and Kirby, and later of Nagel and Kirby. His first foray into politics came when he won election to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1881, where he served until 1883. He was president of the St. Louis city council from 1893 to 1897. He also taught at St. Louis Law School (1885–1909) and was a member of the Republican National Committee (1908–1912).
Nagel was a corporate attorney for Adolphus Busch when President William Howard Taft chose him, in 1909, as Secretary of Commerce and Labor, a position he held until the end of the Taft administration in 1913. He was the last person to serve in the post before it was separated to two cabinet positions, Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Labor. While heading the Department of Commerce and Labor, Nagel made it more accessible to the needs of businessmen while also expanding the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization.
Nagel was also a founder of the United States Chamber of Commerce. Following his time in the cabinet, Nagel returned to the practice of law, arguing before the Supreme Court three times before his death. He died in St. Louis, Missouri on January 5, 1940 and was interred there in Bellefontaine Cemetery.
Family
Nagel was married twice: first, in 1876, to Fannie Brandeis, the sister of Louis Dembitz Brandeis, later a Supreme Court justice. She died in 1889 and he married Anne Shepley in 1895. He had six children, including Charles Nagel, Jr., an architect and curator.
Sources
- Charles Nagel at Find A Grave
- Charles Nagel at The Political Graveyard
"Nagel, Charles". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
- Ragan, Cooper K.. "Nagel, Charles.". Handbook of Texas Online. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fna01. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
Political offices Preceded by
Oscar S. StrausUnited States Secretary of Commerce and Labor
Served under: William Howard Taft
March 6, 1909–March 4, 1913Succeeded by
NoneUnited States Secretaries of Commerce Secretaries of Commerce & Labor Secretaries of Commerce Redfield • Alexander • Hoover • Whiting • Lamont • Chapin • Roper • Hopkins • Jones • Wallace • Harriman • Sawyer • Weeks • Strauss • Mueller • Hodges • Connor • Trowbridge • Smith • Stans • Peterson • Dent • Morton • Richardson • Kreps • Klutznick • Baldrige • Verity • Mosbacher • Franklin • Brown • Kantor • Daley • Mineta • Evans • Gutierrez • Locke • BrysonUnited States Secretaries of Labor Secretaries of Commerce & Labor Secretaries of Labor Cabinet of President William Howard Taft (1909–1913) Vice President Secretary of State Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of War Attorney General Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock (1909–1913)Secretary of the Navy Secretary of the Interior Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of Commerce and Labor Charles Nagel (1909–1913)Categories:- 1849 births
- 1940 deaths
- Members of the Missouri House of Representatives
- Missouri lawyers
- People from St. Louis, Missouri
- Supreme Court of Missouri judges
- United States Chamber of Commerce
- United States Secretaries of Commerce and Labor
- Washington University in St. Louis alumni
- Washington University in St. Louis faculty
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