Horatio Chapin Burchard

Republican Representative of Illinois's 5th district

  • Representative

    Illinois, district 5

    October 15, 1877 - March 3, 1879

5

Congresses Served

5

House Terms

September 22, 1825 (82 years old)

Birthday

May 14, 1908

Death

  • American politician who served as a U.S. Representative and Director of the United States Mint.
  • Graduated from Hamilton College in 1850 and studied law, being admitted to the bar in 1854.
  • Served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1863 to 1866.
  • Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1869 to 1879, with a focus on the Ways and Means Committee.
  • Chaired the Subcommittee on Internal Revenue, where he sponsored legislation for a peacetime income tax, though it was not passed.
  • Served as Director of the United States Mint from 1879 to 1885, during which he created the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
  • Resumed legal practice after his tenure at the Mint and participated in revising state revenue laws.
  • Involved in the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 as part of the jury of awards for the mining department.
  • Experienced personal loss with the death of his wife in 1892 and passed away in 1908.