Charles W. Fairbanks
A staunch conservative anchor in Theodore Roosevelt's progressive administration, whose name lives on in an Alaskan city.
1852–1918 (age 66)·Vice President of the United States from 1905 to 1909·Birthday: May 11
Biography
Charles Fairbanks represented the old guard of the Republican Party, a railroad lawyer and senator from Indiana known for his frosty dignity and unwavering conservative principles. His selection as Theodore Roosevelt's running mate in 1904 was a classic political balancing act, meant to reassure the party's traditionalist wing about the energetic, reformist president. The pairing was famously mismatched; the aloof Fairbanks shared little of Roosevelt's exuberant personality or trust-busting zeal, and he wielded minimal influence during his single term. His legacy is less about vice-presidential action and more about political geography: the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, was named for him in 1903 by a gold prospector seeking the senator's support for a federal railroad. He later sought the presidential nomination himself, only to return to the vice-presidential ticket in 1916 on a losing bid with Charles Evans Hughes.
#1 When Charles Was Born
The biggest hits of 1852
Charles's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1852Born
1857Started school
1865Became a teenager
President: Andrew Johnson
1868Could drive
President: Andrew Johnson
1870Could vote
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1873Turned 21
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1882Turned 30
First electrical power plant opens in New York
President: Chester A. Arthur
1892Turned 40
President: Benjamin Harrison
1902Turned 50
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1912Turned 60
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1918Died at 66
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
Key Achievements
- Served as the 26th Vice President of the United States under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1905 to 1909.
- Represented Indiana as a U.S. Senator from 1897 until his election as Vice President.
- Chaired the Senate's Committee on Immigration and the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
Did You Know?
The city of Fairbanks, Alaska, the largest in the interior of the state, is named after him.
He was the first vice president to have an official portrait painted by a female artist, Cecilia Beaux.
He served as a member of the commission that helped settle the 1902 coal strike, a major event in Roosevelt's presidency.
“The Constitution is a fixed star, not a weather vane.”
