John F. Shafroth (June 9, 1854-February 20, 1922) was a United States Representative and Senator from Colorado. Born in Fayette, Missouri, he attended the common schools and graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1875. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1876 and commenced practice in Fayette. He moved to Denver, Colorado in 1879 and continued the practice of law. He was city attorney from 1887 to 1891 and was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress as a Representative. He was reelected as a Silver Republican to the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, and Fifty-seventh Congresses; he presented credentials as a Democratic Member-elect to the Fifty-eighth Congress and served from March 4, 1895, until his resignation on February 15, 1904, when he declared his conviction that his opponent, Robert W. Bonynge, had been duly elected. Shafroth was Governor of Colorado from 1908 to 1912 and was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1913, to March 3, 1919; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection. While a Senator, he was chairman of the Committee on Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico (Sixty-third through Sixty-fifth Congresses) and a member of the Committee on the Philippines (Sixty-fifth Congress). He was also chairman of the War Minerals Relief Commission from 1919-1921.
John F. Shafroth died in Denver and was interred in Fairmount Cemetery.
Preceded by: Henry Augustus Buchtel Governor of Colorado 1909-1912 Succeeded by: Elias Milton Ammons Preceded by: Simon Guggenheim U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Colorado 1913-1919 Served alongside: Charles S. Thomas Succeeded by: Lawrence C. Phipps This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
