Harry Darby

Harry Darby

Harry Darby (born January 23, 1895 in Kansas City , Kansas , †  January 17, 1987 ibid) was an American politician ( Republican Party ) who represented the state of Kansas in the US Senate .

After attending school, Harry Darby enrolled at the University of Illinois , where he graduated in 1917 and 1929. During the First World War he served as a captain in the US Army . After the end of the war he became a successful businessman in many areas, including the steel industry and banking. From 1933 to 1937 he was on the Highway Commission of Kansas. At the time of World War II , he founded Darby Steel Corporation in Kansas City , a company that built most of the amphibious assault ships used by the army in invasions. The finished vehicles were then taken on the Missouri and Mississippi to New Orleans , more than 1,000 miles away .

With no prior political experience, Darby was appointed US Senator in Washington by Kansas' Governor Frank Carlson on December 2, 1949 . There he succeeded the late Clyde Reed and remained in Congress until November 28, 1950 , before he was replaced by ex-Governor Carlson, who won the by-election. During his time in the Senate, he made friends with General Dwight D. Eisenhower , also from Kansas , who later became President of the United States .

Darby returned to Kansas City and lived there until his death in 1987. The Interstate 635 , a highway between Overland Park (Kansas) and Kansas City ( Missouri ), carries in his honor the nickname Harry Darby Memorial Highway .

Web links

• Harry Darby in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Harry Darby in the database of Find a Grave (English)