Charles A. Mosher Congressional Papers

Charles Adams Mosher, son of Oberlin preparatory students Edward Castle (b. 1872) and Jessie Maria (Adams) Mosher (b. 1872), was born in Sandwich, Illinois on May 7, 1906. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1928 with an A.B. degree in Philosophy, he undertook brief periods of graduate work at Columbia University (1928) and the University of Chicago (1928-29). Subsequently, he worked in the advertising department of the Aurora, Illinois Beacon-News (1929-38) and served as advertising manager of the Janesville, Wisconsin Gazette (1938-40).

In 1940, Mosher moved back to Oberlin, Ohio. He purchased Oberlin’s weekly newspaper, the Oberlin News-Tribune, and began a twenty-year career as its editor and publisher and President of the Oberlin Printing Company. From 1942 to 1947, he was editor of the Oberlin College Alumni Magazine. A member of the Republican party, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Oberlin Village Council (1945-51) and was President of the Oberlin Chamber of Commerce, Community Chest, and Rotary Club. He served as Director (1964-73) of the Oberlin Improvement and Development Corporation and as a trustee of First Church in Oberlin. He was twice elected as a trustee of Oberlin College, serving from 1964 to 1970 and from 1973 to 1977.

In 1951, Mosher was elected to the Ohio State Senate, where he served for five terms until 1961. As a state senator, he was instrumental in ending state censorship of movies and in setting up the state Board of Education and school-foundation system. Upon his election in 1961 to the U. S. House of Representatives, Mosher sold the News-Tribune to his associate, Bradford H. Williams (A.B. Oberlin 1951). During his eight terms representing the 13th Congressional District of northern Ohio, Mosher was a member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, advocating federal aid for Lake Erie ports and shipbuilding projects in his region. In 1967, Mosher became the first Republican member of Congress to vote against appropriating funds for the Vietnam War.

Following his official retirement from the House in 1977, Mosher served as committee staff chief of the Science and Technology Committee (of which he had been the ranking Republican member). In 1979, he was named public programs director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A year later, he began his one-year appointment as a fellow at the Smithsonian's Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.

The Moshers retired to Oberlin in 1982. The same year, Mosher reenrolled in Oberlin College in order to complete coursework for an M.A. degree in Government. He was awarded the M.A. and an honorary LL.D. at Commencement in 1983. Charles Mosher died in Oberlin on November 16, 1984.

Mosher married Harriet Mary Johnson (A.B. Oberlin 1927) on October 5, 1929. They had two children: Frederic Adams Mosher, born December 20, 1932 (A.B. Oberlin 1954), and Mary Jane Mosher, born February 23, 1943.

SOURCES CONSULTED

Student File of Charles A. Mosher (RG 28).

Note written by Kenneth M. Grossi and Tristan P. Gaiser.