Andrew Jackson Houston

Andrew Jackson Houston ( born June 21, 1854 in Independence, Washington County, Texas, † 26 June 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland ) was an American politician. His father was the former President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston.

Life

Houston, who was by his mentor, the former U.S. President Andrew Jackson, named by his father, was educated at several military academies and universities, including West Point and the Baylor University. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1876. As a lawyer, he worked in Tyler, later in Dallas and Beaumont. But subsequently he held numerous other activities; among other things, he served as a Colonel in the National Guard of Texas and the United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Texas.

Policy

Politically active, he was first in 1892 when the governor candidacy of Lily -White Republicans he was offered, a faction of at this time internally gespaltenenen Republicans. Houston accepted the offer, in the certainty that he had no chance; with 0.3 percent of the vote, he finished fifth. 1898 and 1904 he was a candidate then the reunited Republican for Congress, but was defeated in each case significantly. Later he joined twice (1910 and 1918 ) as a candidate for the governorship of Texas; he ran both times unsuccessfully for the Prohibition Party. After the second candidacy that earned him fifth place, he retired and devoted himself to his private historical studies.

This retirement ended abruptly in 1941, when the Texan U.S. Senator Morris Sheppard died and one interim successor was sought. The election of Governor W. Lee O'Daniel fell on the now exchanged to the Democrats Andrew Jackson Houston, because he knew that the 86- year old would have no interest to compete at the next election. When Houston was sworn in on April 21, 1941, he was the oldest man that ever was member of the Senate; older was only taking office 87 -year-old Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton. At this time it was 82 years back that his father had been a member of the Senate.

Houston would have to stop to 1943 Sheppard continuous period of office, but already died on 26 June of the same year, five days after his 87th birthday. Until then he had only attended a committee meeting of the Senate. He was one of four politicians, nor even belong to the chamber at the time when they were still each of oldest living U.S. Senator; the others were William Samuel Johnson, Edmund Pettus and Strom Thurmond; unlike them, this was true for Houston but already at the time of his entry into the Senate.