E. B. Collins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Earnest Bilbe Collins | |
|---|---|
| 1st Speaker of the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives | |
| In office March 3, 1913 – March 5, 1917 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Luther C. Hess |
| Member of the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives 4th district | |
| In office March 3, 1913 – March 5, 1917 | |
| In office March 3, 1919 – March 7, 1921 | |
| Member of the Alaska Senate from the 4th district | |
| In office March 7, 1921 – May 5, 1921 | |
| In office January 27, 1947 – January 22, 1951 | |
| Mayor of Fairbanks | |
| In office 1934–1938 | |
| Preceded by | Arnold Nordale |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Leslie Nerland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Earnest Bilbe Collins July 19, 1873 Farmland, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | September 28, 1967 (aged 94) Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Children | 1 |
Earnest Bilbe Collins (July 19, 1873 – September 28, 1967) was an American politician who served in the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives and senate as a member of the Republican Party. He also served as the first speaker of the house from 1913 to 1917 and as mayor of Fairbanks from 1934 to 1938.[1]
Earnest Bilbe Collins was born in Farmland, Indiana on July 19, 1873, to William John Collins and Elizabeth Robbins. He graduated from college in California in 1896 and read law at an attorney's office in Chico from 1896 to 1904.[2]
He married May Imogene Kimball (1872–1934) on November 26, 1900, in California and went on to have a daughter: Margaret Henshaw (1901–1998). Following the death of his wife in 1934, Collins remarried on January 23, 1936, to Jenny Swensen Larson.[2]
Alaskan life
Political career
Earnest Bilbe Collins was elected as a representative from the 4th district to the First Alaska Territorial Legislature in 1913. He also became the 1st speaker of the house on March 3 of that same year. On March 14, Collins introduced House Bill No. 2, also known as the Collins Women's Suffrage Bill. The bill proposed the right of women in the territory of Alaska to vote in all elections held within the territory. The bill passed the territorial senate by March 18 and was signed into law by Territorial Governor Walter Eli Clark shortly afterwards, marking Collins' first major legislation success. Collins won re-election to his seat and the speakership in 1915 and served those roles until March 5, 1917.[4]
Collins served a third term in the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives from 1919 to 1921. At the end of his term, he was elected to the Alaska Territorial Senate for the 4th district and took office on March 7, 1921, before resigning on May 5, 1921. In November 1921, Collins was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the 4th Judicial District, a job which he would fulfill until his resignation in 1933 in order to co-found the law firm Collins and Clasby.[3]
He was elected as Mayor of Fairbanks and served from 1934 to 1938. During his time as mayor, Collins oversaw some notable advances to the interior Alaska gold-mining community. After his mayorship came to an end, Collins was again elected to the Alaska territorial senate for the 4th District in 1947 and served as Senate President until 1951.[3]
