Robert G. Houston - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Robert Griffith Houston was an American lawyer, publisher and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served four terms as U.S. Representative from Delaware. "Houston" is pronounced "house-ton," unlike the city in Texas with the same spelling.

Early life and family

Houston was born in Milton, Delaware. He attended public schools in Lewes, Delaware, and was the nephew of John W. Houston

John W. Houston

John Wallace Houston was an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party and the Democratic Party, who served as U.S...

, who had served as U.S. Representative from Delaware between 1845 and 1851. He married Margaret White in 1888, an active suffragette and prohibition list.

Professional career

That same year, 1888, Houston was admitted to the Delaware Bar and began the practice of law in Georgetown. He served in the Delaware National Guard from 1890 to 1895 and in 1893, started "the Sussex Republican" a Sussex County newspaper. He was its owner and publisher until 1934. The paper continued under the name "The Sussex Countian" until 1946. Houston also served as the President of the First National Bank of Georgetown from 1901 to 1903.

Political career

In 1900, President William McKinley appointed Houston collector of customs for the district of Delaware, a post he held until 1904. He also served as Assistant Attorney General of Delaware from 1920 to 1924.

In 1924, popular Republican President Calvin Coolidge was reelected and led his party to a gain of 24 seats in the House of Representatives. Houston was elected to this U.S. House in 1924, defeating incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative William H. Boyce. He won election four times in all, also defeating Democrats Merrill H. Tilghman in 1926, John M. Richardson in 1928, and John P. LeFevre in 1930.

During these four terms, he served in the Republican majority in the 69th, 70th, and 71st Congress, but was in the minority in the 72nd Congress. He did not seek reelection in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression. In all, Houston served from March 4, 1925 until March 3, 1933, during the administrations of U.S. Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.

After leaving the U.S. House, Houston again served as Assistant Attorney General of Delaware from 1933 to 1935. In 1936, Houston ran for the U.S. Senate as an Independent-Republican. He finished third behind the incumbent Republican Daniel O. Hastings, and the successful candidate, Democratic James H. Hughes. Following this he retired from politics and resumed his career as a publisher.

Death and legacy

Houston died at Lewes, and is buried there in the Presbyterian Church Cemetery, along with his uncle, former U.S. Representative John W. Houston

John W. Houston

John Wallace Houston was an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party and the Democratic Party, who served as U.S...

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. U.S. Representatives took office March 4th and have a two year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

|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...

|March 4, 1925
|March 3, 1927
|-
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|March 4, 1927
|March 3, 1929
|-
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|March 4, 1929
|March 3, 1931
|-
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|March 4, 1931
|March 3, 1933

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
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|1925–1927
|69th

69th United States Congress

The Sixty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1925 to March 4, 1927, during the third and fourth...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

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|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...

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|1927–1929
|70th

70th United States Congress

The Seventieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1927 to March 3, 1929, during the last two years of...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

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|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

|-
|1929–1931
|71st

71st United States Congress

The Seventy-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1931, during the first two years...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

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|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

|-
|1931–1933
|72nd

72nd United States Congress

The Seventy-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931 to March 4, 1933, during the last two years...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Democratic

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...

|Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

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|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
| Year
| Office
|
| Subject
| Party
| Votes
| %
|
| Opponent
| Party
| Votes
| %
|-
|1924

United States House election, 1924

The U.S. House election, 1924 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1924 which coincided with the election of President Calvin Coolidge, who had replaced Warren Harding following his death....

|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

William H. Boyce

William Henry Boyce, was an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware, and later from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as Associate Justice of the Delaware Superior Court and U. S...

| |Democratic
| |35,943
| |41%
|-
|1926

United States House election, 1926

The U.S. House election, 1926 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1926 which occurred in the middle of President Calvin Coolidge's second term....

|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|
| |Robert G. Houston
| |Republican
| |38,919
| |57%
|
| |Merrill H. Tilghman
| |Democratic
| |29,424
| |43%
|-
|1928

United States House election, 1928

The U.S. House election, 1928 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1928 which coincided with the election of President Herbert Hoover....

|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|
| |Robert G. Houston
| |Republican
| |66,361
| |64%
|
| |John M. Richardson
| |Democratic
| |38,045
| |36%
|-
|1930

United States House election, 1930

The U.S. House election, 1930 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1930 which occurred in the middle of President Herbert Hoover's term....

|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|
| |Robert G. Houston
| |Republican
| |48,493
| |56%
|
| |John P. Le Fevre
| |Democratic
| |38,391
| |44%
|-
|1936
|U.S. Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

James H. Hughes

James Hurd Hughes was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as U.S. Senator from Delaware.-Early life and family:...

Daniel O. Hastings

Daniel Oren Hastings was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served two terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware.-Early Life and Family:...

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |67,136
52,469
| |53%
41%

External links

Places with information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965
Newark Free Library 750 Library Ave., Newark, Delaware (302) 731-7550.

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