Joseph Bosworth

Joseph F. Bosworth (October 3, 1866 – April 26, 1941) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician who served several terms as a member of both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate. A Republican, he was elected speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1920 and served until 1921. He was the last Republican speaker until the election of Jeff Hoover in 2017.

Early life and education Joseph F. Bosworth was born on October 3, 1866, in Fayette County, Kentucky, to Benjamin Bosworth and Mary Cloud. He grew up on his father's farm and received his early education from a rural school taught by novelist James Lane Allen. For three years, he attended the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and then enrolled in the University of Virginia, where he studied law. He married Elizabeth Veal in 1890, in Tazewell, Tennessee, and they had two children, Joseph F. Jr., and Eleanora.

Career After graduating, Bosworth began studying as an apprentice under Joe D. Hunt, a lawyer from Lexington. In 1889, Bosworth was admitted to the bar. Afterward, he traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, where he stayed for a short time. In September 1889, he settled in Middlesboro, Kentucky, where, for about ten years, he maintained a successful law practice. He was the last Republican speaker until the election of Jeff Hoover in 2017. Bosworth served as a representative until 1940.

During his time in office, Bosworth made several modifications to the constitution of Kentucky. From 1908 to 1916, he introduced several amendments to improve the quality of roads within the state, earning him the nickname "The Father of Good Roads". The reforms permitted the state to loan its funds and credit to supplement the undertaking of road districts and the building of highways. He also helped Middlesboro become a third-class city (a city with a population between 8,000 and 19,999) instead of a fourth-class city (a city with a population between 3,000 and 7,999), and the appropriation law, which completed the current Kentucky State Capitol Building.

Later life and death Bosworth left office in 1940. He died on April 26, 1941, at the age of 74 in Middlesboro, Kentucky, after a short illness. Before he died, he filed to run for mayor of Middlesboro. He was buried in the Middlesboro Cemetery in Middlesboro.