Joseph Reed Lane (May 6, 1858 - May 1, 1931) was an attorney and a one-term 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...

 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 2nd congressional district

Iowa's 2nd congressional district

Iowa's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that generally covers most of the southeastern part of the state including Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.The district is currently represented by Democrat Dave Loebsack....

 at the close of the 19th century.

Lane was born in Davenport, Iowa

Davenport, Iowa

Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...

, as the son of local attorney James T. Lane and his wife Annie. He attended the public schools in Davenport.
He was graduated from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois

Galesburg, Illinois

Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County....

, in 1878 and from the University of Iowa College of Law

University of Iowa College of Law

The University of Iowa College of Law is one of the eleven professional graduate schools at the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest law school in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. The law school was ranked as the 27th best law school...

 at 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...

 in 1880.
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 the latter year and commenced practice in Davenport with his father's law firm, the predecessor to the Lane & Waterman firm.
He served as regent of the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

, and was a member of the Davenport City Council from 1884 to 1889.

In 1898, incumbent Republican Congressman George M. Curtis

George M. Curtis

George Martin Curtis was a two-term Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district.Born near Oxford, New York, to John S. and Elizabeth Curtis, Curtis moved to Ogle County, Illinois, in 1856 with his parents, who settled on a farm near Rochelle, Illinois...

 refused to run for a third term as representative of Iowa's 2nd congressional district, and no clear replacement as Republican nominee emerged prior to the party's district nominating convention. At that convention, Lane became a candidate and was chosen by acclamation. After defeating John J. Ney in the general election, Lane served in the Fifty-sixth

56th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :* President: Garret Hobart , until November 21, 1899 , vacant thereafter.* President pro tempore: William P. Frye * Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones...

 Congress (March 4, 1899-March 3, 1901).

In July 1900 he made the surprising announcement that would not seek re-election, citing personal and private business reasons. He resumed the practice of law in Davenport. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1908.

Lane died in Davenport on May 1, 1931. He was interred in Oakdale Cemetery

Oakdale Memorial Gardens

Oakdale Memorial Gardens, formerly Oakdale Cemetery, is located in east-central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was established in 1856 and designed by Captain George F. de la Roche, who had finished the design of Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C. five years earlier. It is considered a...

.