Burke, Thomas, 1849-1925

Judge Thomas Burke was for nearly fifty years a central figure in the political and economic life of Washington State and especially Seattle. Burke arrived in Seattle in 1875 to make his fortune. An astute lawyer and speculator, he acquired a reputation as a talented courtroom advocate. As the Democratic candidate for territorial delegate to Congress in 1880, Burke conducted a vigorous, though unsuccessful, campaign. In 1885 he and Seattle newcomer Daniel Gilman attracted Eastern capital and built over 100 miles of the Seattle, Lake Shore, and Eastern Railway Company. James J. Hill, president of the Great Northern Railway, bought the Burke-Gilman venture and later made Seattle the western terminus of his railroad. Burke became Western counsel for the Great Northern, and his power and fortune grew after Hill took control of the rival Northern Pacific system in the mid 1890s. Burke led efforts to develop mineral resources in Eastern Washington, and with Daniel Gilman and others, he was involved in buying and promoting property in various parts of Seattle. Burke retired from the Great Northern in 1902, after which he focused on the management of his properties and on public affairs. In 1896 he repudiated the Democratic Party on the Free Silver question and became a Republican, and in 1910 he entered but lost the Republican primary for an open U.S. Senate seat. Burke remained a force in Seattle political and economic developments, however. He opposed the 1886 Anti-Chinese Riots in Seattle and was involved in the establishment of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the Bremerton Navy Yard, Fort Lawton, the Port of Seattle, the Seattle street railways, and the creation of Seattle City Light. He also took part in charitable endeavors, contributing his efforts to Whitman College, the University of Washington, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Burke died in 1925, leaving a substantial gift for the construction of the Burke Museum on the University of Washington campus.

From the description of Thomas Burke papers, 1875-1925. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 77010214

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