Donald Ray Matthews

Donald Ray Matthews

Donald Ray "Billy" Matthews (born October 3, 1907 in Micanopy , Florida , †  October 26, 1997 in Gainesville , Florida) was an American politician . He represented the state of Florida in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Donald Matthews attended Hawthorne Public School and graduated from the University of Florida at Gainesville in 1929 . During the summers between 1928 and 1938 he was Assistant State 4-H Agent . Between 1929 and 1935 he taught at the schools in Leesburg and Orlando . He was then principal of Newberry High School . He only carried out this activity from 1935 to 1936. In addition, Matthews was a member of the Florida House of Representatives in 1935 . He then served on the University of Florida administrative staff from 1936 to 1952.

When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the United States Army . He served there from 1942 to 1946 and was retired as a captain of the infantry. Matthews was elected a Democrat in the 83rd and six subsequent conventions. His term of office lasted from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1967. When he ran for the 90th Congress in 1966, he was defeated in the primary elections of his party Don Fuqua .

After serving in Congress, he was an advisor and director of the Rural Community Development Service at the US Department of Agriculture from 1967 to 1969 . He then worked from 1969 to 1977 as a political science teacher at Santa Fe Community College . Matthews lived in Gainesville until his death on October 26, 1997. He was buried in Hawthorne.

Web links

• Donald Ray Matthews in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)