Bancroft, Philip, 1881-1975

Philip Bancroft was a farmer and long-time resident of Contra Costa County. He was active in the California Republican Party and the Progressive Party, and was a member and officer of numerous agricultural organizations, including the Associated Farmers of Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa Walnut Growers' Association and the California Pear Growers' Association.

Biographical Sketch

Philip Bancroft was born in San Francisco in 1881, the son of Hubert Howe and Matilda Coley Griffing Bancroft. He attended Harvard Law School and Hastings College of the Law, graduating from the latter in 1905. He then established a law practice in San Francisco and soon became interested in politics. In 1908 he was elected a delegate to the Republican National Convention. In 1912 he was elected again to their convention where he became a member of the Progressive National Convention formed to nominate Theodore Roosevelt and Hiram W. Johnson. Following Army service in World War I, he decided to become a full-time farmer on his ranch in Walnut Creek, California. He was a member and officer of numerous agricultural organizations including the Associated Farmers of Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa Walnut Growers' Association and the California Pear Growers' Association. In 1938 and 1944 he was the Republican nominee for the office of United States Senator from California. He died in 1975.