Don B. Colton

Don Byron Colton ( born September 15, 1876 at Mona, Juab County, Utah; † August 1, 1952 in Salt Lake City, Utah ) was an American politician. Between 1921 and 1933 he represented the first electoral district of the state of Utah in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early years and political rise

Don Colton moved in 1879 with his parents in the Uintah County, where he attended the public schools. By 1896, he attended Brigham Young University in Provo. In the years 1898, 1901 and 1902 Colton worked as a teacher. After a subsequent law studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, he was admitted in 1905 as a lawyer. Then he started in Vernal, Utah to work in his new profession. However, he also like the cattle and sheep was also active in other areas. Between 1905 and 1914 he worked in Vernal for the land administration authority of the federal government.

Colton was a member of the Republican Party. In 1903 he was elected to the House of Representatives from Utah; 1915-1917 he was a member of the State Senate. In the years 1914 to 1924 he was a delegate at all party conferences of the Republicans in Utah. He was also in 1904, 1924 and 1928 Delegate to the respective Republican National Conventions, where Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert C. Hoover respective presidential candidates were nominated and were subsequently also elected to this office.

Colton in Congress

In 1920, Don Colton was elected for the first electoral district of Utah in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he Milton H. Welling replaced on March 4, 1921. After several successful elections Colton was able to complete in Congress until March 3, 1933 a total of six legislative periods. There he was at times Chairman of the Election Committee ( Committee on Elections No. 1.) And member of the Committee for management of public lands. In the congressional elections of 1932 he was defeated by Democrats Orrice Abram Murdock. The election results in favor of the Democrats this year was in the national trend. The highlight of this development was the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt as U.S. president.

Further CV

After the end of his time in Congress Colton again worked as a lawyer in Vernal. In 1934, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. Senate. In 1937, he moved to Salt Lake City, where he was active both as a lawyer and as a rancher. In 1940, he ran unsuccessfully for the post of governor of Utah. He was also active in the Mormon Church, in which he held a number of leading tasks.