Robert Randolph "Bob" Casey (July 27, 1915 — April 17, 1986) was a member of the United States House of Representatives

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...

. He was a Democrat

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...

 from Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

Early life

Casey was born in Joplin, Missouri

Joplin, Missouri

Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...

 but moved to Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 as a teenager, attending the city's San Jacinto High School. Casey earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Houston

University of Houston

The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...

 and Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from the South Texas College of Law

South Texas College of Law

South Texas College of Law is a private American Bar Association accredited law school and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools...

. In 1940, he was admitted to the bar set up a private practice in Alvin, Texas

Alvin, Texas

Alvin is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and Brazoria County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 21,413. Alvin's claim to fame is Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who moved with his family to the city in 1947 as...

. Two years later, he became the city attorney.

Political career

In 1943, Casey returned to Houston to become Harris County's

Harris County, Texas

As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...

 assistant district attorney. Casey first ran for office in 1948 when he was able to earn a seat in the Texas House of Representatives. However, he chose not to run for reelection to this post, instead spending the next eight years as a Harris County Judge. He was also an administrator at South Texas College

South Texas College

South Texas College is a public community college in the Rio South Texas Region, and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Bachelor of Applied Technology, Associate of Applied Science, Associate of Arts and Associate of Science...

.

Casey was elected to the United States House in 1958 in the newly created 22nd district

Texas's 22nd congressional district

Texas District 22 of the United States House of Representatives is the Congressional district that covers a south-central portion of the metropolitan area. It includes the cities of Rosenberg and La Marque as well as portions of Missouri City and Pearland, in Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston, and...

. He defeated the 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...

 Thomas Everton Kennerly, Sr. (1903-2000) by 43,660 (61.7%) to 23,317 (33%).
Kennerly was thereafter his party's gubernatorial nominee in 1966 against John B. Connally, Jr.

John Connally

John Bowden Connally, Jr. , was an influential American politician, serving as the 39th governor of Texas, Secretary of the Navy under President John F. Kennedy, and as Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard M. Nixon. While he was Governor in 1963, Connally was a passenger in the car in...

Casey was a member of the House Committee on Government Reform

United States House Committee on Government Reform

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is a United States House of Representatives committee that has existed in varying forms since 1816....

 and the Committee on the Post Office and the Civil Service. In 1976, he left the House after his appointment to the Federal Maritime Commission by President Gerald R. Ford. He later returned to the practice of law for several years prior to his death.

Memorials

The Bob Casey Federal Courthouse, housing the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas is the Federal district court with jurisdiction over the southern part of Texas...

at 515 Rusk Street in Houston, is named after Bob Casey.