Richard M. Kleberg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 14th district
In office
November 24, 1931 – January 3, 1945
Preceded byHarry M. Wurzbach
Succeeded byJohn E. Lyle Jr.
Texas State Game and Fish Commission
In office
1951–1955
Personal details
Born
Richard Mifflin Kleberg

(1887-11-18)November 18, 1887
near Kingsville, Texas, U.S.
DiedMay 8, 1955(1955-05-08) (aged 67)
Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
Resting placeChamberlain Burial Park, Kingsville, Tex.
Political partyDemocratic
Relations
  • Alice Gertrudis King and Robert Justus Kleberg, parents
  • Rep. Robert C. Eckhardt, 2nd cousin
Residence(s)Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater
ProfessionLawyer (admitted to the bar 1909)
[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

References

  1. ↑ "KLEBERG, Richard Mifflin Sr., (1887–1955)". Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  2. ↑ Colley, Betty Bailey; Jane Clements Monday (2001). Tales of the Wild Horse Desert (1st ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 93, 95. ISBN 0-292-71241-3. LCCN 2001000186. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  3. ↑ Stout, David (November 16, 2001). "Ex-Rep. Bob Eckhardt, 88, Liberal Democrat of Texas". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-02-04. And Mr. Eckhardt's second cousin Representative Richard M. Kleberg of Texas gave the young Lyndon B. Johnson his first job in Washington.
  4. ↑ TIME. December 7, 1931. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ Caro, Robert A. (1982). The Path to Power. The Years of Lyndon Johnson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. pp. 213 et seq. ISBN 0394499735.
  6. ↑ "A Texas Boy 'Born Into Politics'". The New York Times on the Web. January 23, 1973. Retrieved 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. ↑ "Richard M. Kleberg Sr. Dies; Co-owner of Vast King Ranch; Chairman of Texas Cattle Empire Was 67; Served in Congress for 12 Years" (fee). New York Times. May 9, 1955. Retrieved 2013-02-05. (subscription required)
  9. ↑ Caro (1982). p. 271. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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