Thomas Fitch

Born in New York City on January 27, 1838, Thomas Fitch built a career that moved through journalism, law, and politics. He worked as a newspaper editor in California, later became active in Nevada politics, and served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from Nevada from 1869 to 1871.

Fitch became especially well known in the West as a lawyer and public speaker. He was involved in several high-profile legal cases and earned a reputation for wit and forceful argument. Later in life he continued writing and was associated with the Los Angeles Times.

For readers, he is also of interest as the co-author, with his wife Anna M. Fitch, of Better Days; Or, A Millionaire of To-Morrow (1891), a utopian novel. That mix of public life, journalism, and imaginative writing gives his work an unusual flavor: part political, part literary, and very much shaped by the ideas of his time.