Richard Walker Bolling

Richard Walker Bolling

Richard Walker Bolling (born May 17, 1916 in New York City , †  April 21, 1991 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician . Between 1949 and 1983 he represented the state of Missouri in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Richard Bolling was a great-great-grandson of US Senator John Williams Walker (1783-1823) from Alabama and a great-great-nephew of his son, Congressman Percy Walker (1812-1880). He attended Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire . In 1937 he settled in Huntsville , Alabama, after his father's death . He then studied literature and French at the University of the South in Sewanee ( Tennessee ). Between 1939 and 1940 he continued his studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville . At the same time he was a teacher at the Sewanee Military Academy in 1938 and 1939 .

From 1940 to 1941 he worked in Alabama in various positions in school administration. During World War II he was a staff officer in the United States Army . In doing so, he made it to the position of lieutenant colonel in the Asian theater of war. At times he was on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur . For his military achievements he was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star .

Politically, Bolling was a member of the Democratic Party . In the 1948 congressional elections he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington in the fifth constituency of Missouri, where he succeeded Albert L. Reeves on January 3, 1949 . After 16 re-elections, he was able to complete a total of 17 legislative terms in Congress by January 3, 1983 . During this period, the Cold War , the Korean War , the civil rights movement , the Vietnam War and the Watergate Affair took place . The 22nd , 23rd , 24th , 25th and 26th amendments to the Constitution were also ratified at that time. From 1973 to 1975, Bolling was chairman of the Select Committee on Committees of the House . From 1977 to 1979 he headed the Joint Economic Committee and between 1979 and 1983 the Committee on Rules .

Due to health problems, Richard Bolling decided not to run again in 1982. After leaving the US House of Representatives, he was visiting professor of political science at the University of Missouri in Kansas City . He also taught at Boston College in Massachusetts . He lived alternately in the federal capital Washington and his summer residence in Portage Point ( Michigan ). Richard Bolling had been married to Barbara Stratton since 1945, with whom he had a daughter. He died in Washington on April 21, 1991.

Web links

• Richard Walker Bolling in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Richard Walker Bolling in the database of Find a Grave (English)