”Around the Capital” (detail), engraving, Thomas Fleming, 1902, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

COOMBS, Frank Leslie, a Representative from California; born in Napa, Napa County, Calif., December 27, 1853; attended the public schools in California; attended the Dorchester High School, Boston, Mass., and was graduated from the law department of Columbian (now George Washington) University, Washington, D.C., in 1875; was admitted to the bar in 1875 and commenced practice in Napa, Calif.; district attorney of Napa County, Calif., 1880-1885; member of the State assembly 1887-1889 and 1891-1897 and served as speaker in 1891 and again in 1897; on the death of John F. Swift was appointed United States Minister to Japan and served from June 1892 to August 1893; State librarian of California from April 1, 1898, to April 1, 1899; United States attorney for the northern district of California from April 1, 1899, to March 1, 1901; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1901-March 3, 1903); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1902; resumed the practice of law in Napa, Calif.; again a member of the State assembly 1921-1923 and 1925-1927; died in Napa, Calif., October 5, 1934; interment in Tulocay Cemetery.