Lucius Mendel Rivers

Lucius Mendel Rivers (1968)

Lucius Mendel Rivers (born September 28, 1905 in Gumville , Berkeley County , South Carolina , †  December 28, 1970 in Birmingham , Alabama ) was an American politician who represented the state of South Carolina in the US House of Representatives for almost 30 years .

Life

Lucius Mendel Rivers attended public school and college in Charleston . He studied law at the University of South Carolina at Columbia . He was admitted to the bar in 1932, after which he opened a law firm in Charleston. Rivers was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives a year later, in 1933 . He stayed there until 1936. In 1936 he took part as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention .

After that, Rivers was elected to the US House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1941 . There he represented the first congressional constituency of his state. Rivers was confirmed fifteen more times. For his last three terms he was the chairman of the United States House Committee on Armed Services . Rivers is one of many public officials known to have had drinking problems during this time. He became known for his testimony that Hugh Thompson was the only person who deserved to be punished for the My Lai massacre .

Rivers died in 1970 about two months after being re-elected for his 16th term. He was buried in the Episcopal Church Cemetery in St. Stephen . Rivers was an Episcopalian , a Masonic member , benefactor and patron of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), and a member of the Exchange Club. In addition, the nuclear submarine USS L. Mendel Rivers (SSN-686) was named in his honor, as was the L. Mendel Rivers Library at Charleston Southern University .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n12_v19/ai_6306545 Genealogies
2. ↑ http://www.csuniv.edu/library

Web links

• Lucius Mendel Rivers in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)