State Web Site

Higher Office(s) Served: Senator

Military Service: National Guard

War(s) Served:  Spanish-American War; World War I

THEODORE FRANCIS GREEN was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in 1887 and an A.M. in 1890, after which he studied at Harvard Law School and at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin in Germany. From 1894 to 1897 he taught Roman Law at Brown while practicing law with his father. He went on to practice with several other law firms. He served during both the Spanish-American War and World War I. Green was a member of the state House of Representatives and was a recognized contributor to the Democratic platform at numerous Democratic National Conventions. He was unsuccessful in his 1912 bid to become governor and his 1920 bid to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. His primary concern in his successful 1932 gubernatorial race was economic relief for those suffering the effects of the Great Depression. An unemployment relief program was implemented during Green's administration, as were many public works projects, including the development of beach property, reforestation, and improvement of state institutions. In addition, power shifted from the legislative to the executive branch during his second term in office. Green went on to win election to four terms in the U.S. Senate. He served as a Trustee of Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Providence Public Library and served on numerous charitable boards. He also was an officer of a number of banking, land, transportation, and insurance businesses.

Sources:

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Mohr, Ralph S. Governors for Three Hundred Years (1638-1954): Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. State of Rhode Island, Graves Registration Committee, August 1954.

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 53. New York: James T. White & Company.

The Political Graveyard

Rhode Island Historical Society Library

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 4. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.