Subjects – Familial Connections
The youngest Representative in House history, William Charles Cole Claiborne
November 23, 1817
On this date, William Charles Cole Claiborne of Tennessee, the youngest person ever elected to the House of Representatives died.
Representative Ruth Hanna McCormick of Illinois
March 27, 1880
On this date, Ruth Hanna McCormick of Illinois was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts
March 19, 1881
Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts, a renowned advocate for veterans and the longest-serving woman in congressional history, was born in Saco, Maine.
Representative Ruth Bryan Owen of Florida
October 02, 1885
On this date, Florida Representative Ruth Bryan Owen was born in Jacksonville, Illinois. The daughter of famed orator William Jennings Bryan, Ruth Owen sought and won election to the 71st Congress (1929–1931) in 1928.
The life of former Speaker Charles Crisp of Georgia
October 23, 1896
On this date, former Speaker Charles Crisp of Georgia died at his home in Atlanta.
Representative Veronica Grace Boland of Pennsylvania
March 18, 1899
On this date, Veronica Grace Boland, the first woman to serve in Congress from Pennsylvania, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Representative Mae Ella Nolan of California
January 23, 1923
Mae Ella Nolan of California, widow of Labor Committee Chairman John I. Nolan, was elected to the U.S. House as an Independent, filling her late husband’s vacant seat at the end of the 67th Congress (1921–1923).
A historic trio of women Members
February 15, 1923
On this date, Representatives Alice Robertson of Oklahoma, Mae Nolan of California, and Winnifred Mason Huck of Illinois posed on the front steps of the House entrance of the U.S. Capitol.
Representative Florence Kahn of California
February 17, 1925
On this date, Florence Kahn of California won the special election to succeed her late husband Julius Kahn to the 69th Congress (1925–1927).
The swearing-in of Representatives Ruth Bryan Owen of Florida and Ruth Hanna McCormick of Illinois
April 15, 1929
On this date, Ruth Hanna McCormick of Illinois and Ruth Bryan Owen of Florida were sworn in with the other Members of the 71st Congress (1929–1931), for an extraordinary session called by President Herbert Hoover to address farm relief and tariff revision.
Representative Thomas McMillan of South Carolina
September 29, 1939
On this date, Representative Thomas McMillan of South Carolina died in Charleston, South Carolina.
Representative Kathryn Byron of Maryland
May 27, 1941
From a rural, largely Democratic Maryland district, Katherine Byron narrowly won the special election on this date to her late husband’s seat in the House of Representatives.
The 1946 House elections
November 05, 1946
Riding widespread discontent with the postwar economic policies of the Harry Truman administration, Republicans on this date recaptured majority control of the House from Democrats for the first time in 15 years.
Representative Vera Buchanan of Pennsylvania
November 26, 1955
On this date, Representative Vera Buchanan of Pennsylvania passed away during her third term in the House, becoming the first Congresswoman to die in office.
Representative Shirley Pettis of California
April 29, 1975
On this date, Shirley Pettis of California won the special election to fill the vacancy caused by the untimely death of her husband Jerry Pettis in an airplane crash.
Representative Frances Bolton of Ohio
March 09, 1977
Representative Frances Bolton of Ohio, a civil rights advocate and one-time leading woman in Congress, died.
Representative Sala Burton of California
June 28, 1983
On this date, Representative Sala Burton of California was sworn in as a Member of the 98th Congress (1983–1985).
Representative Leonor Sullivan of Missouri
September 01, 1988
On this date, Representative Leonor Sullivan of Missouri died in St. Louis.