Charles W. Fulton

American politician (1853–1918)

Charles William Fulton (August 24, 1853January 27, 1918) was an American lawyer and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Ohio, he grew up in Iowa and Nebraska before settling in Astoria, Oregon. A Republican, he served in the Oregon State Senate, including time as President of the Senate, before he was elected as United States Senator from Oregon.

Charles William Fulton was born in Lima, Ohio, on August 24, 1853, to Jacob and Eliza A. Fulton. The family moved to Iowa in 1855 and settled in Magnolia, Harrison County. Fulton attended the common schools there, and then moved to Pawnee City, Nebraska, in 1870 where he was educated at the Pawnee City Academy. He served his four year term, remaining through the 1880 legislative session. In 1880, he began working as Astoria's city attorney, keeping the job until 1882. During the 1893 session he served as President of the Senate. In 1894, he was in contention for the Republican nomination for Oregon Governor, but William Paine Lord was selected as the candidate at the Republican convention. Fulton did not return to the senate during the next two legislatures, but was back during the 1898 special session. In 1900, he won another four year term, and served as Senate President during the 1901 legislature. He also served in the 1903 session before the Oregon Legislative Assembly elected him to the U. S. Senate. Fulton declined the nomination.

Following Congress, he resumed the practice of law in Portland. Fulton married in 1886 to Ada M. Hobson, and they had one child, a son. Elmer Lincoln Fulton, Charles' brother, was a United States representative from Oklahoma. Charles William Fulton died on January 27, 1918, at the age of 64 and was buried in Astoria at Ocean View Cemetery.