Richard M. Kleberg

Richard Mifflin Kleberg, Sr.
U.S. Representative, Texas's 14th congressional district
In office November 24, 1931 – January 3, 1945
President	Herbert Hoover Franklin Roosevelt
Preceded by	Harry M. Wurzbach
Succeeded by	John E. Lyle, Jr.
Texas State Game and Fish Commission
In office 1951–1955
Personal details
Born	November 18, 1887 near Kingsville, Kleberg County, Tex.
Died	May 8, 1955 (aged 67) Hot Springs, Ark.
Resting place	Chamberlain Burial Park, Kingsville, Tex.
Political party	Democratic
Relations	Alice Gertrudis King and Robert Justus Kleberg, parents Rep. Robert C. Eckhardt, 2nd cousin
Residence	Corpus Christi, Texas
Alma mater	Corpus Christi High School (1905) University of Texas at Austin (1911)
Occupation	Rancher
Profession	Lawyer (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. He was first elected in 1931 in a special election called due to the death of Harry M. Wurzbach.^[4] His election caused the Democratic party to achieve an absolute majority in the House of Representatives --- a majority 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]

He was a member of the Miller group in Washington.^[7]

See also

• United States Congressional Delegations from Texas

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. 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. Caro (1982). p. 271. Missing or empty |title= (help)

• "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)

External links

• United States Congress. "Richard M. Kleberg (id: K000257)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2013-02-04.

"Richard M. Kleberg". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2013-02-04.

• "Richard Kleberg Sr., former Representative from Texas's 14th District - GovTrack.us". Retrieved 2013-02-04.
• http://www.king-ranch.com/legend.htm
• The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Kittredge to Kleier at politicalgraveyard.com
• Richard Mifflin Kleberg from the Handbook of Texas Online

Richard M. Kleberg at Find a Grave