David D. Aitken


David Demerest Aitken was a U.S. Representative from the state of Michigan.

Early life

Aitken was born on a farm in Flint Township, Michigan in Genesee County. His father, Robert P. Aitken, served in the Michigan House of Representatives 1865-1868. Aitken attended the district schools and the local high school in Flint. He taught in a district school of Genesee County in 1871-1872 and moved to New Jersey in 1872, where he was employed as a bookkeeper. He studied law in New York City, was admitted to the bar in 1878, and commenced practice in Flint.

Political life

He was Flint city clerk 1883-1886 and city attorney 1886-1890. Aitken was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives from the 6th District of Michigan for the 53rd and 54th Congresses, serving from March 4, 1893 to March 3, 1897. He was chairman of the House Committee on Mines and Mining in the 54th Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination, running instead for Governor of Michigan in 1896. After losing that election to Hazen S. Pingree, Aitken resumed the practice of law and also engaged in banking. He served as Mayor of City of Flint in 1905 and 1906. He died in Flint on May 26, 1930, and is interred in his family's plot at historic Glenwood Cemetery in Flint.
His boyhood home at 1110 N. Linden Rd. in Flint Township, Michigan is listed on The National Register of Historic Places.