Frederick Van Nuys was a United States Senator from Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. Born in Falmouth

Falmouth, Indiana

Falmouth is an unincorporated community in Fayette and Rush counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. Located at the northeastern corner of Union Township and the southeastern corner of Washington Township in Rush County and along the northwestern edge of Fairview Township in Fayette County, it lies...

, he attended the public schools and graduated from Earlham College

Earlham College

Earlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...

 (Richmond, Indiana

Richmond, Indiana

Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...

) in 1898 and from the Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis

Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis

The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law  is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana. The law school is one of two law schools operated by the Indiana University system, the other being the Indiana University...

 in 1900. He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1900 and commenced practice in Shelbyville

Shelbyville, Indiana

Shelbyville is a city in Addison Township, Shelby County, Indiana, United States. The population was 17,951 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Shelby County...

 moving shortly afterward to Anderson

Anderson, Indiana

Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison county. Anderson is the headquarters of the Church of God and home of Anderson University, which is...

. From 1906 to 1910 he was prosecuting attorney of Madison County

Madison County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 133,358 people, 53,052 households, and 36,234 families residing in the county. The population density was 295 people per square mile . There were 56,939 housing units at an average density of 126 per square mile...

 and was a member of the Indiana Senate

Indiana Senate

The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms without term limits...

 from 1913 to 1916, serving as president pro tempore

President pro tempore

A President pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer...

 in 1915. He moved to Indianapolis in 1916 and continued the practice of law; he was United States attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

 for the district of Indiana from 1920 to 1922.

Frederick Van Nuys was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the U.S. Senate in 1932, soundly defeating longtime incumbent James Eli Watson

James Eli Watson

James Eli Watson was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Indiana. He was the Senate's second official majority leader. While an article published by the Senate gives his year of birth as 1862, this is most probably incorrect.He was born in Winchester, Indiana, one of six children...

. He was narrowly reelected in 1938, serving from March 4, 1933, until his death on a farm near Vienna, Virginia

Vienna, Virginia

Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,687. Significantly more people live in zip codes with the Vienna postal addresses bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to...

 in 1944. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments (76th Congress) and a member of the Committee on the Judiciary

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...

 (77th and 78th Congresses). Interment was in East Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, Indiana

Anderson, Indiana

Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison county. Anderson is the headquarters of the Church of God and home of Anderson University, which is...

.

Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest

Literary Digest

The Literary Digest was an influential general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, Public Opinion and Current Opinion.-History:...

it was van-NIECE. (Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.)

See also

• Van Nuys, Indiana
  Van Nuys, Indiana
  Van Nuys is an unincorporated community in Henry Township, Henry County, Indiana and the site of the Indiana Village for Epileptics.-Geography:Van Nuys is located at ....
  
  
• Shelbyville