Richard Reid Rogers (December 4, 1867 – November 10, 1949) was a prominent United States lawyer, specializing in transit law.

Early life

He was born on December 4, 1867, in Bourbon County, Kentucky, to Benjamin F. Rogers and Elizabeth H. (née Jameson) Rogers. After his father's unexpected death, his mother remarried to Judge Richard Reid. His maternal grandfather was U.S. Representative from Missouri, John Jameson. Rogers graduated in 1886 from Princeton University before studying law at the University of Virginia.

Career

He began his career in New York City with Guthrie, Cravath, & Henderson, before serving as the general counsel to both the Isthmian Canal Commission and later the Panama Railroad Company. He subsequently was counsel to the Metropolitan Street Railway and several of its successor companies. On June 20, 1906, Rogers was appointed as general counsel to the Isthmian Canal Commission, to replace outgoing Governor Charles Edward Magoon. In November of that year, President Theodore Roosevelt temporarily abolished the office of Governor of the Panama Canal Zone, to give greater autonomy to the chief engineer of the canal project. This order placed all of the duties of the Governor on the general counsel, in effect making Rogers the Governor in all but title (though he was not required to govern from the Canal Zone itself and he remained in Washington, D.C.).

Personal life

On June 25, 1891, Rogers was married to Sarah Eunice Tomlin (1867–1945) in Madison, Tennessee. They were the parents of one daughter: He died on November 10, 1949, at the University Club in New York City. He was buried at the Machpelah Cemetery in Mount Sterling, Kentucky.

Descendants

Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was a grandfather of four: Elisabeth Auguste (1915–2003), Richard Christian (1917–1985), Waldemar (1919–2002) and Marie Louise Olga (1921–1999), who were permitted to title themselves Prinz/Prinzessin von Hessen (Prince/Princess of Hesse).