Richard M. Kleberg Explained

State:Texas
Term Start1:November 24, 1931
Term End1:January 3, 1945
Predecessor1:Harry M. Wurzbach
Successor1:John E. Lyle Jr.
Office2:Texas State Game and Fish Commission
Term Start2:1951
Term End2:1955
Birth Name:Richard Mifflin Kleberg
Birth Date:18 November 1887
Birth Place:near Kingsville, Texas, U.S.
Death Place:Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
Restingplace:Chamberlain Burial Park, Kingsville, Tex.
Party:Democratic
Relations:
  • Alice Gertrudis King and Robert Justus Kleberg, parents
  • Rep. Robert C. Eckhardt, 2nd cousin
Residence:Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Alma Mater:
Profession:Lawyer (admitted to the bar 1909)
Footnotes:[1] [2] [3]

Richard Mifflin Kleberg Sr. (November 18, 1887 – May 8, 1955), a Democrat, was a seven-term member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 14th congressional district over the period 1931–1945 and an heir to the King Ranch in South Texas.

Kleberg was first elected in 1931 in a special election to succeed the late Harry M. Wurzbach.[4] His election caused the Democratic party to achieve a majority in the House of Representatives, which it retained for all but four of the next sixty-three years. He was elected unopposed in 1940 and 1942. Lyndon B. Johnson served as a congressional secretary under Kleberg from 1931 until his appointment as head of the Texas National Youth Administration in 1935.[5] [6]

As described by Johnson biographer Robert Caro, Kleberg was a staunch conservative, and initially took a dim view of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. Nevertheless, he was persuaded by Lyndon Johnson to vote for certain key New Deal policies that he personally opposed when it was brought to his attention that they enjoyed significant support among his constituents.

He was defeated for renomination in 1944 by John E. Lyle, Jr., who was elected unopposed that November.[7] Kleberg died in 1955 at age 67.[8]

He was a member of the Miller group in Washington.[9]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: KLEBERG, Richard Mifflin Sr., (1887–1955) . 2013-02-05 . Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress.
  2. Book: Colley, Betty Bailey . Betty Bailey Colley -->

    . 2013-02-04 . Tales of the Wild Horse Desert . 93, 95 . Betty Bailey Colley --> . Jane Clements Monday . . . 0-292-71241-3 . 2001000186 . 1st . 2001 .

  3. Web site: 2013-02-04 . Ex-Rep. Bob Eckhardt, 88, Liberal Democrat of Texas . New York Times . David Stout . David . Stout . November 16, 2001 . And Mr. Eckhardt's second cousin Representative Richard M. Kleberg of Texas gave the young Lyndon B. Johnson his first job in Washington..
  4. . December 7, 1931.
  5. Book: Caro, Robert A. . Robert Caro . . The Path to Power . 1982 . . . 0394499735 . 213 et seq.
  6. Web site: January 23, 1973 . A Texas Boy 'Born Into Politics' . The New York Times on the Web . 2013-02-04 . While still teaching in Houston, Mr. Johnson went to work as a volunteer in the 1931 congressional campaign of Richard M. Kleberg Sr., one of the owners of the mammoth King Ranch and a friend of his father. Mr. Kleberg won the special election for a House seat. The tall, gangling Mr. Johnson, then 22, went to Washington with him as his legislative assistant. Lyndon Johnson hit Capitol Hill in those Depression days like a Texas tornado. He called persistently Federal bureaus, seeking drought relief, unemployment relief, civil service jobs, anything that was available for the folks back home..
  7. [1944 United States House of Representatives elections]
  8. News: fee . Richard M. Kleberg Sr. Dies; Co-owner of Vast King Ranch; Chairman of Texas Cattle Empire Was 67; Served in Congress for 12 Years . 2013-02-05 . New York Times . May 9, 1955 .
  9. Book: Caro . 271 . 1982.

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