Richard H. Norton

Richard Henry Norton was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Missouri in the United States House of Representatives.

Biography

Norton was born on November 6, 1849, in Troy, Missouri, the son of Elias Norton. He studied at Westminster College, Saint Louis University, and the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, graduating from the latter in 1870. After he was admitted to the bar in 1870, he began practice in Troy.
A Democrat, Norton represented Missouri's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1893. He had previously ran in five Democratic primaries for Congress. In the Democratic primary for the 1888 election, he faced Judge Elijah Robinson, and they tied. Instead of by vote, Norton was decided the Democratic candidate by the flip of a penny; this event led Champ Clark to support primary elections. His tenure in the House was his first and only position in public service. He was a member of the Committee on Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River, alongside fellow Missouri Representative Frederick G. Niedringhaus. In 1900, Ainslee's Magazine described his tenure as overlooked and "neither a favorite nor an object of dislike".
After serving in Congress, he worked in law and agriculture. In 1874, he married Annie Ward; they had one child together. He died on March 15, 1918, aged 68, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He is buried in the City Cemetery, in Troy.