Addison Taylor Smith was a United States 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 Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

. Smith served 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...

 in the House from 1913 to 1933.

Smith began his political career in 1891 as a secretary for Republican U.S. Senator George L. Shoup

George Laird Shoup

George Laird Shoup was the first Governor of Idaho, serving a short time after statehood in 1890 before becoming one of the state's first United States Senators....

 of Idaho. He graduated from George Washington University

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

 with a law degree in 1895 and served on Shoup's staff until the senator's 1900 election defeat. In 1903 Smith joined the staff of U.S. Senator Weldon B. Heyburn

Weldon B. Heyburn

Weldon Brinton Heyburn was a U.S. Senator from Idaho from 1903 1912. The city of Heyburn is named for him, as is Mount Heyburn.-Early life:...

, another Idaho Republican. Smith also served as secretary of the Idaho Republican Party

Idaho Republican Party

The Idaho Republican Party, the Idaho state affiliate of the United States Republican Party, is the dominant political party in the state of Idaho. Republicans control the all constitutional offices, with C.L. "Butch" Otter as Governor. They also control by large margins the state Senate and House...

.

By 1905 Smith established a residence in Twin Falls

Twin Falls, Idaho

Twin Falls is the county seat and largest city of Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The population was 44,125 at the 2010 censusTwin Falls is the largest city of Idaho's Magic Valley region...

. He was appointed as registrar of the United States Land Office in Boise

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

 in 1907.

In 1912 Smith was elected to the House as one of two at-large members from Idaho, representing the entire state. After 1919. he represented the state's 2nd district

Idaho's 2nd congressional district

Idaho's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Idaho. The district encompasses Eastern Idaho and the Magic Valley region of the state and other outlying areas, as well as a small portion of the Boise Metropolitan Area, including two-thirds of the city of Boise...

. During his House tenure he chaired several committees, including the Committee on Alcohol Liquor Traffic, the Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands and the Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation.

Smith was defeated for reelection in 1932 by 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...

 Thomas C. Coffin

Thomas C. Coffin

Thomas Chalkley Coffin was a United States Representative from Idaho. Coffin served as a Democrat in the House from 1933 to 1934....

. In 1934 Smith was appointed to the Board of Veterans Appeals of the Veterans Administration

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

, serving in that capacity until 1942. In 1937 he became director of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf (now Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...

) in Washington, D.C., a position he held until his death.

Smith died from lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

in 1956. He is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.