What was Charles Curtis's role in U.S. politics?

Charles Curtis served as Vice President of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and was a long-serving member of Congress, including stints in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. He was a prominent Republican leader during his era.

What made Charles Curtis historically significant?

Curtis was the first person of significant Native American ancestry to serve as Vice President, breaking barriers for Indigenous representation in U.S. government. His Kaw heritage was a notable aspect of his identity.

What were Charles Curtis's professional backgrounds before politics?

Before entering politics, Curtis worked as a lawyer, which provided a foundation for his later legislative and executive roles. His legal training influenced his approach to governance and policy.

How did Charles Curtis's vice presidency impact U.S. history?

Curtis's vice presidency coincided with the early years of the Great Depression, a period of economic crisis. While his role was largely ceremonial, his presence as a Native American leader was symbolically important.

What were Charles Curtis's connections to Native American communities?

Curtis was a member of the Kaw people, a federally recognized tribe in Oklahoma. His ancestry and upbringing were tied to Native American culture, though his political career primarily aligned with mainstream U.S. institutions.

Charles Curtis

vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933

Person Human Q271023

Facts

28 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[21]
Date of birth: January 25, 1860
Date of death: February 8, 1936
Place of birth: Topeka
Place of death: Washington, D.C.
Country of citizenship: United States, Kaw people^[12]^[13]
Occupation: politician, prosecutor, lawyer
Position held: United States representative, Vice President of the United States, President pro tempore of the United States Senate, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]
Educated at: Topeka High School^[19]
Religion or worldview: Methodism^[20]
Member of political party: Republican Party^[22]
Father: Orren Arms Curtis^[9]
Mother: Ellen Gonville Pappan^[10]
Spouse: Annie Elizabeth Curtis^[11]
Sibling: Dolly Gann^[34]
Cause of death: myocardial infarction^[23]
Work location: Washington, D.C.^[27]
Languages spoken, written or signed: English, French, Kansa^[29]^[30]^[31]
Family name: Curtis^[25]
Given name: Charles^[26]
Manner of death: natural causes^[28]
Name in native language: Charles Curtis^[32]
Native language: Kansa^[14]

Show all 28 facts +4

Number of children: +3^[33]
On focus list of Wikimedia project: WikiProject Smithsonian Names^[35]
Place of burial: Topeka Cemetery^[8]
Residence: Charles Curtis House^[24]

🏷️ Also known as

en Charles Curtis ar تشارلز كورتيس el Τσαρλς Κέρτις fa چارلز کورتیس he צ'ארלס קרטיס ja チャールズ・カーティス ko 찰스 커티스 pl Thomas Charles Curtis ru Кёртис, Чарлз ru Кертис, Чарлз ru Кёртис, Чарльз ru Чарлз Кертис ru Чарлз Кёртис ru Чарльз Кёртис sv Curtis th ชาลส์ เคอร์ทิส uk Чарлз Кертіс zh 查尔斯·柯蒂斯 zh-hant 查爾斯·柯蒂斯

🔖 Identifiers · 40

ISNI: 0000000029009608
VIAF cluster ID: 45101037
Library of Congress Authorities ID: n89600284
GND ID: 118925601
American National Biography ID: 0600129
Archives at Yale agent ID: people/70594
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 16192707v
Canadiana Name Authority ID: ncf11623056
Comic Vine ID: 4005-137013
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID: 118925601
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/Charles-Curtis
FAST ID: 242953

Show all 40 identifiers +28

FES digital collections entity ID: 385839
FamilySearch person ID: LZKX-GNM
Find a Grave memorial ID: 2895
Freebase ID: /m/0myvl
GeneaStar person ID: curtisc
Genealogics.org person ID: I00509791
Geni profile ID: 6000000003076075156
IdRef ID: 150193858
Kansapedia ID: 12029
Museum-digital person/organization ID: 127484
NNDB people ID: 458/000071245
National Library of Poland MMS ID: 9811795111505606
Olympedia people ID: 1100009
OpenMLOL author ID: 171141
Our Campaigns candidate ID: 4986
PM20 folder ID: pe/003602
Political Graveyard politician ID: curtis.html#859.58.33
Rodovid ID: 79739
SNAC ARK ID: w6nq2tck, w6b85gnw
Trading Card Database name ID: 141995
U.S. National Archives Identifier: 10572938
US Congress Bio ID: C001008
United States House of Representatives ID: 11714
WeRelate person ID: Charles_Curtis_(15)
WikiTree person ID: Curtis-1647
Wolfram Language entity code: Entity["HistoricalEvent", "CharlesCurtisBecomesFirstNativeAmericanVicePresident"]
WorldCat Entities ID: E39PBJk8TXjYdXxPJbMb737j4q
Yale LUX ID: person/2c35a0a0-ae9c-451d-b7f8-17b3aefa8f02

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Position held 14

Vice President of the United States, President pro tempore of the United States Senate, United States representative, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator, United States senator +6 more

Languages spoken, written or signed 3

English, French, Kansa

Occupation 3

politician, lawyer, prosecutor

Country of citizenship 2

United States, Kaw people

Participated in 2

first inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, inauguration of Herbert Hoover

Cause of death 1

myocardial infarction

Given name 1

Charles

Instance of 1

human

Manner of death 1

natural causes

Member of political party 1

Republican Party

Native language 1

Kansa

Place of birth 1

Topeka

Place of death 1

Washington, D.C.

Religion or worldview 1

Methodism

Sex or gender 1

male

Work location 1

Washington, D.C.

← Officially opened by 1

1932 Summer Olympics

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Charles Curtis was born on January 25, 1860^[1], in Topeka^[2]. He died on February 8, 1936^[3], in Washington, D.C.^[4]. He worked as a politician^[5], prosecutor^[6], and lawyer^[7].

FAQs

Where was Charles Curtis born?

Charles Curtis was born in Topeka^[2].

Where did Charles Curtis die?

Charles Curtis died in Washington, D.C.^[4].

Who were Charles Curtis's parents?

Charles Curtis's father was Orren Arms Curtis^[9]. Charles Curtis's mother was Ellen Gonville Pappan^[10].

Who was Charles Curtis married to?

Charles Curtis's spouses include Annie Elizabeth Curtis^[11].

What did Charles Curtis do for work?

Charles Curtis worked as a politician^[5], prosecutor^[6], and lawyer^[7].

Where did Charles Curtis go to school?

Charles Curtis was educated at Topeka High School^[19].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Charles Curtis — place of birth (P19): Topeka. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Charles Curtis — place of death (P20): Washington, D.C.. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-11-07. wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ Charles Curtis — sex or gender (P21): male. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Charles Curtis — father (P22): Orren Arms Curtis. Genealogics. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Charles Curtis — mother (P25): Ellen Gonville Pappan. Genealogics. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Charles Curtis — spouse (P26): Annie Elizabeth Curtis. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Charles Curtis — country of citizenship (P27): United States. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Charles Curtis — country of citizenship (P27): Kaw people. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Charles Curtis — position held (P39): United States representative. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Charles Curtis — position held (P39): Vice President of the United States. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Charles Curtis — position held (P39): President pro tempore of the United States Senate. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Charles Curtis — position held (P39): United States senator. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2021-01-29. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Charles Curtis — educated at (P69): Topeka High School. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ Charles Curtis — member of political party (P102): Republican Party. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Charles Curtis — native language (P103): Kansa. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Charles Curtis — occupation (P106): politician. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Charles Curtis — occupation (P106): prosecutor. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Charles Curtis — occupation (P106): lawyer. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Charles Curtis — place of burial (P119): Topeka Cemetery. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Charles Curtis — religion or worldview (P140): Methodism. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ Charles Curtis — cause of death (P509): myocardial infarction. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ Charles Curtis — residence (P551): Charles Curtis House. National Register of Historic Places. wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ Charles Curtis — date of birth (P569): January 25, 1860. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Charles Curtis — date of death (P570): February 8, 1936. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ Charles Curtis — family name (P734): Curtis. wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ Charles Curtis — given name (P735): Charles. wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ Charles Curtis — work location (P937): Washington, D.C.. wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ Charles Curtis — manner of death (P1196): natural causes. wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ Charles Curtis — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): English. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ Charles Curtis — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): French. wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ Charles Curtis — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): Kansa. wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ Charles Curtis — name in native language (P1559): Charles Curtis. wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ Charles Curtis — number of children (P1971): 3. wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ Charles Curtis — sibling (P3373): Dolly Gann. wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ Charles Curtis — on focus list of Wikimedia project (P5008): WikiProject Smithsonian Names. wikidata.org.

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APA

4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Charles Curtis. Retrieved November 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/charles-curtis

MLA “Charles Curtis.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/charles-curtis.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_charles-curtis_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Charles Curtis}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/charles-curtis}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-10}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Charles Curtis — https://4ort.xyz/entity/charles-curtis (retrieved 2026-11-10)

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2d ago · Printstream · 2026-11-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #65768: add GND as source to unsourced or imported places and occupations"
19w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗

FES digital collections entity ID → 385839

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