LAUSCHE, FRANK JOHN (14 Nov. 1895-21 Apr. 1990), a politician known for his independence and integrity, Frank was born in Cleveland the son of Slovenian immigrants Louis and Frances (Milavec) Lausche. He attended the Central Institute Preparatory School 1915-16, completing his high school education by correspondence. Lausche graduated from John Marshall Law School, passing the bar in 1925, and worked at the firm of Locher, Green, and Woods where Cyrus Locher encouraged him to go into politics. Lausche was appointed and then elected judge in Cleveland Municipal Court 1932-1935 and served in Common Pleas court 1936-41 where he helped close down the Harvard and Thomas gambling houses in NEWBURGH HEIGHTS. As a Democrat, Lausche was elected Mayor of Cleveland in 1941, the first mayor of Eastern European descent During his mayoralty, negotiations for the city to take over the Cleveland Railway system were finalized, and in 1942 the Cleveland Transit System was organized. Concerned about postwar development, Lausche organized the Post War Planning Council in 1944 to coordinate future planning in the areas of labor, health, transportation, and racial toleration. Noted for a clean and frugal government, he served 2 terms as mayor and then was elected Governor of Ohio 1945-46 and again 1948-56. Lausche was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1956, defeating GEORGE BENDER† and served there until he lost to John Gilligan in the 1968 Democratic primary. He remained in the Washington D.C. area practicing law. While nominally a Democrat, Lausche operated outside the party throughout his career, often refusing to campaign for other Democratic party candidates.

Lausche married Jane O. Sheal of Cleveland in May 1928; they had no children. After her death in 1981, he remained in Washington until 1990 when he returned to Cleveland and moved into the Slovene Home for the Aged.

Frank Lausche Papers, Ohio Historical Society.

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