Robert G. Allen
Encyclopedia
Robert Gray Allen was an American businessman and a Democratic
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
.
, Massachusetts
. He moved to Minneapolis
, Minnesota
, in 1906. He was graduated from Phillips Academy
at Andover
, Massachusetts, in 1922 and later attended Harvard University
in Cambridge
, Massachusetts. He moved to Greensburg
, Pennsylvania in 1929 and was a salesman and sales manager for a valve and fittings manufacturing business until 1937. He was district administrator of the Works Progress Administration
in 1935 and 1936.
Allen was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fifth
and Seventy-sixth
Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1940
. He became president of the Duff-Norton Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh
, from 1940 to 1943. He was commissioned a major in the Ordnance Corps
of the United States Army
in July 1942 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1943. He served until his discharge in January 1945.
After his time in Congress and the Army, he served in a variety of business positions:
He retired from business activities in 1962 and moved from Milwaukee, to Keene, Virginia
, where he died.
In 1948, Allen's daughter, Katharine "Kathy" Allen, married Warren A. Morton
(1924–2002), an oil
man in Casper
who later served as Speaker
of the Wyoming House of Representatives
from 1979–1980 and was the unsuccessful Republican
gubernatorial nominee in 1982. Katharine Morton recalls that though her father had been a New Deal
supporter, he opposed U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
's Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937
and also ran afoul of United Mine Workers
labor figure John L. Lewis
.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Biography
Allen was born in WinchesterWinchester, Massachusetts
Winchester is a town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, eight miles north of Boston. With its agricultural roots having mostly disappeared, it is now an affluent suburb...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He moved to Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, in 1906. He was graduated from Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
at Andover
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
, Massachusetts, in 1922 and later attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts. He moved to Greensburg
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
, Pennsylvania in 1929 and was a salesman and sales manager for a valve and fittings manufacturing business until 1937. He was district administrator of the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
in 1935 and 1936.
Allen was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fifth
75th United States Congress
The Seventy-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1939, during the first two years...
and Seventy-sixth
76th United States Congress
The Seventy-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 1941, during the seventh and...
Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1940
United States House election, 1940
The U.S. House election, 1940 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1940 which coincided with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's re-election to an unprecedented third term. His Democratic Party narrowly gained seats from the opposition Republican Party, cementing...
. He became president of the Duff-Norton Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, from 1940 to 1943. He was commissioned a major in the Ordnance Corps
Ordnance Corps
The United States Army Ordnance Corps is a Sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia.-Mission Statement:The U.S...
of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in July 1942 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1943. He served until his discharge in January 1945.
After his time in Congress and the Army, he served in a variety of business positions:
- Baldwin Locomotive WorksBaldwin Locomotive WorksThe Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
(Sales manager) from 1945 to 1946 - Fisher Plastics Corporation (Vice President) in Boston, Massachusetts from 1946 to 1947
- Great Lakes Carbon CorporationSGL CarbonSGL Carbon is one of the world's leading manufacturers of products from carbon. The company portfolio ranges from carbon and graphite materials to carbon fibers and composites...
(Vice President) from 1947 to 1954 - Pesco Products (President), a division of Borg-WarnerBorgWarnerBorgWarner Inc. is a United States-based worldwide automotive industry components and parts supplier. It is primarily known for its powertrain products, which include manual and automatic transmissions and transmission components, , turbochargers, engine valve timing system...
Corporation, from 1954–1957 - Bucyrus-Erie CompanyBucyrus InternationalBucyrus International, Inc. , was an American surface and underground mining equipment company. Founded as Bucyrus Foundry and Manufacturing Company in Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1880, Bucyrus moved company headquarters to South Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1893. In its early history, Bucyrus produced steam...
(Vice President in 1957 - 1958, and president in 1958) - Bucyrus-Erie Co. of Canada, Ltd. (chairman of the board and president)
- Ruston-Bucyrus, Ltd., Lincoln, England (chairman of the board)
- Director of the First National Bank of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
He retired from business activities in 1962 and moved from Milwaukee, to Keene, Virginia
Keene, Virginia
Keene is an unincorporated community in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. As of the 1990 census, the town had a total population of 10....
, where he died.
In 1948, Allen's daughter, Katharine "Kathy" Allen, married Warren A. Morton
Warren A. Morton
Warren Allen Morton was a Casper oilman and engineer who served as Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1979 to 1980, prior to mounting a Republican gubernatorial campaign in 1982. He served in the Wyoming House from Natrona County from January 1, 1967, to December 31, 1980...
(1924–2002), an oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
man in Casper
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
who later served as Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the Wyoming House of Representatives
Wyoming House of Representatives
The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal amount of single-member constituent districts across the state, each with a population of at least 9,000. The House convenes at the Wyoming...
from 1979–1980 and was the unsuccessful Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
gubernatorial nominee in 1982. Katharine Morton recalls that though her father had been a New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
supporter, he opposed U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937
Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937
The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, frequently called the court-packing plan, was a legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Roosevelt's purpose was to obtain favorable rulings regarding New Deal legislation that...
and also ran afoul of United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
labor figure John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
.