William R. Poage

William Robert Poage ( born December 28, 1899 in Waco, Texas, † January 3, 1987 in Temple, Texas ) was an American politician. He represented the state of Texas as a deputy in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

William Poage was born in 1899 in Waco. Then in 1901 his family moved to the Throckmorton County, where they settled near Woodson. Poage attended the village school in Throckmorton County. During World War II he served as a corporal in the United States Navy.

After the war he attended the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Colorado at Boulder. After 1921 he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University in Waco. Subsequently, he worked from 1920 to 1922 with agriculture. Then he accepted a position as a teacher of geology at Baylor University, a position he held from 1922 to 1924. He also made 1924 his Bachelor of Laws from the legal department at Baylor University. His admission to the bar he was in the same year and opened a practice in Waco. He taught from 1924 to 1928 law at Baylor University. In addition, he was from 1925 to 1929 deputy in the Texas House of Representatives and was from 1931 to 1937 the state Senate.

Policy

Poage was delegate to the 1922 Democratic Convention of Texas. In the years 1956, 1960 and 1964 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions. He was elected as a Democrat to the 75th and the 20 subsequent Congresses. His term lasted from 3 January 1937 until his resignation on 31 December 1978. He decided in 1978 to the 96th Congress not to run. During his tenure, he was chairman of the Committee on Agriculture ( 90th to 93rd Congress ). Furthermore, he did not participate in 1956 at the Constitution of the Southern Manifesto, which spoke out against racial integration in public institutions.

William Poage died on January 3, 1987 in his home in Temple. He was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Waco. In Temple, a federal building was named after him.