Richard Bartholdt

Born in Schleiz in 1855, he was educated there before emigrating to the United States in 1872. After learning the printing trade in Brooklyn, he moved to St. Louis in 1877 and worked as a reporter, legislative correspondent, and editor for several newspapers, eventually becoming editor in chief of the St. Louis Demokrat.

He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House from Missouri and served from 1893 to 1915. That long run in Congress made him a notable figure in Missouri public life, especially as a German-born politician who rose through the city’s vibrant German-language press.

Accounts of his career consistently describe him as both a newspaperman and a public servant, and his background helps explain the practical, civic tone associated with his work. He died in 1932 and was buried in St. Louis, the city where his journalism and political career had taken shape.