Albert Thomas (American politician)
Albert Thomas | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 8th district | |
In office January 3, 1937 – February 15, 1966 | |
Preceded by | Joe H. Eagle |
Succeeded by | Lera Millard Thomas |
Personal details | |
Born | April 12, 1898 Rice Institute University of Texas |
Albert Langston Thomas
Early life
Thomas was born in
Congressional career
When long-time congressman Joe H. Eagle did not seek reelection in 1936 so he could run for the United States Senate, Thomas sought and won the Democratic nomination, which was tantamount to election. In that primary, Thomas beat Houston mayor Oscar F. Holcombe in what was something of an upset.[4] The Eighth District of Texas at that time comprised all of Harris County, which included the state's largest city, Houston.
In Congress, Thomas was a protégé of Texas Senator (later President)
Thomas was a member of the
Along with the majority of the Texan delegation, Thomas declined to sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto opposing the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. Thomas voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960,[7][8] but voted in favor of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964,[9][10] and did not vote on the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[11]
Appreciation dinner in 1963
In 1963, Thomas was seriously considering not running for a fifteenth term. Local Democrats organized an appreciation dinner on November 21, 1963, with over 3200 attendees to persuade him to run for another term. The most visible attendees were President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson who both spoke of Thomas's leadership. Kennedy said, "Next month, when the United States of America fires the largest booster in the history of the world into space for the first time, giving us the lead, fires the largest, payroll -- payload -- into space, giving us the lead. " here the President paused a second and grinned. "It will be the largest payroll, too," he quipped. The crowd roared.[12] "And who should know that better than Houston. We put a little of it right in here." The President then resumed in a more serious vein, "But in any case, the United States next month will have a leadership in space which it wouldn't have without Albert Thomas. And so will this city."[13]
Thomas accompanied the presidential party as it traveled to Dallas the next day, where President Kennedy was assassinated. He witnessed the swearing in of President Lyndon B. Johnson on Air Force One.[14] The famous “wink photo” was taken shortly thereafter.
In 1964, Thomas was named Chairman of the
By the time of his death in
See also
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)
Notes
- ^ Encyclopedia of American Biography, New Series, vol. 39 (American History Society, 1969), p. 293-294.
- ^ a b "Houston History". houstonhistory.com. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "Albert Thomas". texasescapes.com. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ Transcript, Mrs. Albert (Lera) Thomas Oral History Interview I, 10/11/69, by David G. McComb, Internet Copy, LBJ Library. Utexas.edu Archived 2007-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Chaikin, Andrew (1994). A Man on the Moon. New York: Penguin Books.
- ^ Berger, Eric (September 14, 2013). "A worthy endeavor: How Albert Thomas won Houston NASA's flagship center". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
- ^ "HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957". GovTrack.us.
- ^ "HR 8601. PASSAGE".
- ^ "S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS". GovTrack.us.
- ^ "H.R. 7152. PASSAGE".
- ^ "TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT".
- ^ "November 21, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy's remarks at a Dinner Honoring Albert Thomas". YouTube. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "Remarks at Representative Albert Thomas dinner, Houston Coliseum, Texas, 21 November 1963". jfklibrary.org. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ Jones, Chris (September 16, 2013). "The Flight from Dallas". Esquire. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- ^ Livingston, Abby (15 June 2018). "Texas sent its first woman to Congress in 1966. Why has she been largely forgotten?". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
References
- United States Congress. "Albert Thomas (id: T000156)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Transcript, Mrs. Albert (Lera) Thomas Oral History Interview I, 10/11/69, by David G. McComb, Internet Copy, LBJ Library. Utexas.edu
- Bryce, Robert, Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate (PublicAffairs, 2004).
External links
- Guide to the Albert Thomas papers, 1937-1965 (Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA)