Robert B. Duncan
Robert B. Duncan | |
---|---|
Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives | |
In office 1959–1962 | |
Preceded by | Pat Dooley |
Succeeded by | Clarence Barton |
Constituency | Jackson County |
Personal details | |
Born | Normal, Illinois | December 4, 1920
Died | April 29, 2011 Portland, Oregon | (aged 90)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouses | Marijane Duncan
(m. 1942; died 1990)Kathryn Boe (m. 1995) |
Alma mater | Illinois Wesleyan University, University of Michigan Law School |
Robert Blackford Duncan (December 4, 1920 – April 29, 2011) was an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, he served multiple terms in the Oregon Legislative Assembly and as a U.S. congressman from Oregon. In the Oregon House of Representatives he served as speaker for four years, and in the U.S. House he represented two different districts. The Illinois native and World War II veteran ran three unsuccessful campaigns to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
Early life
Robert B. Duncan was born in Normal, Illinois, on December 4, 1920. His father, Eugene Duncan, came to Illinois from a family in Missouri whose ascendants were originally from Scotland. His mother, Catherine Blackford, was of Welsh origin—her parents had immigrated from Wales to the United States in the late 19th century.
Robert Duncan was the second of four boys: Carter, Bob, Clark and John Bruce. He attended public schools in
During World War II, he served in the United States Merchant Marine and in the United States Naval Air Force as a pilot from 1942 to 1945.[1] In 1948, Duncan received his LL.B from the University of Michigan Law School and passed the bar in October of that year.[1] After graduation Duncan and his family moved from Michigan to Portland and then to Medford in Southern Oregon, where he moved to join the law practice of William M. McAllister.[2]
Political career
In 1954, Duncan was nominated as a
In the
In
Duncan returned to his Portland law practice. He ran once more for the Senate in 1972, again losing the Democratic nomination to Morse, this time by a wider margin. Morse then lost to Senator Hatfield. After
Later years and family
In 1985, he returned to live in Oregon, settling in the coastal community of Yachats.[2] He served on the Northwest Power Planning Council from 1984 to 1988, and as its chairperson in 1987.[1] Following his work on the Council (he left the Council in 1988), Duncan spent his time working on his house in Yachats and on his collection of old cars, and spending time with his seven grandchildren.
Duncan's first wife, Marijane, died November 9, 1990.[2] The couple had seven children. In 1995, Duncan married Kathryn Boe, widow of Jason Boe who had served in the Oregon Senate from 1970 to 1980, four terms as Senate president.[10] Duncan lived in Portland until his death at the age of 90 at the Mirabella retirement home on April 29, 2011.[11]
His papers are housed in the Robert Blackford Duncan collection at the University of Oregon. A four-volume book of his writings is in that collection and also is in the archival collections of Illinois Wesleyan University, Normal, Illinois; the University of Alaska in Fairbanks; and the Oregon Historical Society, Portland.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Duncan, Robert Blackford. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f Marijane Duncan, ex-official's wife, dies. The Oregonian, November 13, 1990.
- ^ "Modern American Patriot: Mark O. Hatfield". America's Defense Monitor. March 16, 1977. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
- ISBN 0-87595-263-1.
- ^ "Morse-Hatfield Relationship Spans 20 Years Of Politics". Register-Guard. May 28, 1972. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
- ^ "The Reign of Wayne". Time. January 5, 1968. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
- ^ "Monsoon Season". Time. November 4, 1966. Archived from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- ^ "Wayne by a Whisker". Time. June 7, 1968. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- ^ "Five-Term Congressman is Defeated in Oregon". New York Times. May 21, 1980. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
- ^ "Robert Duncan, former Oregon lawmaker, dies at 90". Washington Post. May 1, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ^ Terry, Lynn (April 29, 2011). "Former U.S. Rep. Robert Duncan dies in Portland at age of 90". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 29, 2011.