Robert Gordon Cousins was an eight-term Republican U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Iowa's 5th congressional district

Iowa's 5th congressional district

Iowa's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers most of Western Iowa and includes the cities of Council Bluffs and Sioux City...

. He represented the Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...

, area for the last eight years of the 19th century and the first eight years of the 20th century.

Born on a farm, "Indian Lodge," near Tipton, Iowa

Tipton, Iowa

Tipton is a city in Cedar County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,155 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cedar County.-Geography:Tipton is located at ....

, in Cedar County, Iowa

Cedar County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 13,956 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,064 housing units, of which 7,511 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, Cousins attended the common schools, and was graduated from Cornell College

Cornell College

Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally called the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by Reverend Samuel M. Fellows...

 in Mount Vernon, Iowa

Mount Vernon, Iowa

Mount Vernon is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the city of Lisbon. The city's population was 3,390 when the 2000 census figures were released, but that number was later revised to 3,808 because the Census Bureau had incorrectly reported that 418 residents of a Cornell...

, in 1881. After studying law, 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 1882, and engaged in practice in Tipton.

In 1886, Cousins was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives

Iowa House of Representatives

The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 100 members of the House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 29,750 for each constituency...

. He was chosen by the House as one of the managers to conduct the impeachment proceedings of John L. Brown before the Iowa Senate

Iowa Senate

The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 members of the Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 59,500 per constituency. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts...

 in 1886. He served as prosecuting attorney for Cedar County from 1888 to 1890.

In 1892, Cousins ran as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 against Democratic Congressman John Taylor Hamilton

John Taylor Hamilton

John Taylor Hamilton was a businessman from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and a one-term Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa's 5th congressional district.-Early life:...

, who had won election to the U.S. House seat for Iowa's 5th congressional district two years earlier. Cousins defeated Hamilton in the general election and thereby became a member of the Fifty-third

53rd United States Congress

The Fifty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1893 to March 4, 1895, during the fifth and sixth...

 Congress. He was then re-elected to the seven succeeding Congresses.
He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury from the Fifty-fifth

55th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:* Republican: 206 * Democratic: 124* Populist: 22* Silver Republican: 3* Silver: 1* Independent Republican: 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Garret Hobart * President pro tempore: William P...

 through Fifty-ninth

59th United States Congress

The Fifty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1905 to March 4, 1907, during the fifth and sixth...

 Congresses, and chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Sixtieth

60th United States Congress

The Sixtieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1907 to March 4, 1909, during the last two years of...

 Congress.

In 1908, Cousins declined to be a candidate for renomination. In all, he served in Congress from March 4, 1893 to March 3, 1909.

After leaving Congress, Cousins resumed the practice of law in Tipton, and also engaged as a writer and as a Chautauqua

Chautauqua

Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...

 lecturer.

He died on June 20, 1933, in Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...

. He was interred in Red Oak Cemetery, five miles northwest of Tipton.