Charles L. Gerlach

Charles L. Gerlach
Gerlach in September 1939
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
In office January 3, 1939 – May 5, 1947
Preceded by	Oliver W. Frey
Succeeded by	Franklin H. Lichtenwalter
Constituency	9th district (1939–1945) 8th district (1945–1947)
Personal details
Born	(1895-09-14)September 14, 1895 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	May 5, 1947(1947-05-05) (aged 51) Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican

Charles Lewis Gerlach (September 14, 1895 – May 5, 1947) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.^[1]

Biography

Gerlach was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on September 14, 1895. In 1914, he moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he became the organizer, and later president, of a fuel and heating supply company.^[2]

A Republican State committeeman in 1936 and 1937, he was elected to the 76th Congress in 1938, and served until his 1947 death in Allentown.^[3]

A confidential 1943 analysis of the House Foreign Affairs Committee by Isaiah Berlin for the British Foreign Office described Gerlach as:^[4]

A newcomer to the committee. A rugged Isolationist before Pearl Harbour, who voted only for purely defensive measures, such as conscription and arming of United States ships. Though he opposed the original Lend-Lease, he favoured its continuation, but would be difficult to say exactly where he stands on the larger questions of post-war American policy.

Death

On May 5, 1947, while still serving in Congress, Gerlach died in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at age 51. He was interred in Greenwood Cemetery in Allentown.

See also

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

References

1. "Gerlach, Charles Lewis" (G000135), in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Washington, D.C.: Offices of the Historians of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, March 18, 2023.
2. "Gerlach, Charles Lewis," in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
3. "Gerlach, Charles Lewis," in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
4. Hachey, Thomas E. (Winter 1973–1974). "American Profiles on Capitol Hill: A Confidential Study for the British Foreign Office in 1943" (PDF). Wisconsin Magazine of History. 57 (2): 141–153. JSTOR 4634869. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-21.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Oliver W. Frey	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district 1939–1945	Succeeded by J. Roland Kinzer
Preceded by James Wolfenden	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district 1945–1947	Succeeded by Franklin H. Lichtenwalter