Editing Maurice Thatcher (section)

== Biography ==
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Thatcher's family moved to [[Butler County, Kentucky]] in 1874 and settled near [[Morgantown, Kentucky|Morgantown]]. Thatcher worked in farming, on a newspaper and in county offices.  He was elected the circuit court clerk for Butler County in 1892 and served from January 1, 1893, until his resignation in 1896. He studied law in [[Frankfort, Kentucky]] and was admitted to the bar in 1898, commencing his law practice in Frankfort. Thatcher was an Assistant [[Attorney General of Kentucky]] 1898–1900 and then moved to [[Louisville, Kentucky]] in 1900. He was an Assistant [[United States Attorney]] for the Western District of Kentucky from 1901 to 1906 and a state inspector and examiner for Kentucky 1908–1910.

Thatcher was also a member of the Isthmian Canal Commission and governor of the [[Panama Canal Zone|Canal Zone]] from 1909 to 1913. Thatcher was the Commission's longest-lived and last surviving member.

During his congressional tenure, he guided the passage of several Kentucky landmarks and parks: [[Mammoth Cave National Park]], [[Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park|Lincoln's birthplace]], and the [[Zachary Taylor National Cemetery]]. In 1932, he gave up his seat in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat [[Alben W. Barkley]] for election to the [[United States Senate]].

Thatcher served as the general counsel of the Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical and Preventative Medicine, Inc., in [[Washington, D.C.]], beginning in 1939 and became its vice president in 1948, a post he held until 1969 when he was made honorary president, a position previously reserved for [[President of the United States|Presidents of the United States]]. In 1962, the first bridge connecting both sides of the Panama Canal was named after him: Thatcher Ferry Bridge. In 1979, the name was officially changed to the [[Bridge of the Americas]].

Thatcher was a [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]].<ref>{{cite journal|year=1965|title=Thatcher Returning to States After Visit|journal=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 89th Congress|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31210025939495&view=1up&seq=217|volume=111|issue=11|pages=14517}}</ref>