Will E. Neal

Will E. Neal (1953)

William Elmer Neal (born October 14, 1875 in Proctorville , Ohio , †  November 12, 1959 in Huntington , West Virginia ) was an American politician . Between 1953 and 1955 and again from 1957 to 1959 he represented the fourth constituency of the state of West Virginia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Will Neal attended public schools in his home country. In 1894 he graduated from Proctorville High School . He then taught in schools in Ohio and Kentucky for six years . This was followed by studies at the National Normal University in Lebanon , which he completed in 1900. After studying medicine at the University of Cincinnati and being admitted as a doctor in 1906, Neal began practicing his new profession in Huntington in 1907. It was there that Neal began a political career. He became a member of the Republican Party and was Mayor of Huntington from 1925 to 1928. From 1931 to 1952 he was a member of the Huntington Park Board . Between 1936 and 1940, Neal served on the West Virginia State Health Commission. He served in the West Virginia House of Representatives in 1951 and 1952 .

In 1952, Neal was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the fourth district of West Virginia . There he took over on January 3, 1953, succeeding the Democrat Maurice G. Burnside , whom he had defeated in the election. At that time, Neal was 77 years old, making him the oldest freshman elected to the House of Representatives to this day . Since he lost to Burnside two years later, Neal was initially only able to serve one term in Congress until January 3, 1955 . In 1955 he was medical advisor to the authority responsible for the overseas operation in Afghanistan for a few months . In the 1956 congressional election, Neal ran again against Burnside. After his electoral victory, he was able to take his old seat in the US House of Representatives on January 3, 1957 and to spend another legislative period in Congress until January 3, 1959. This was determined by the events of the Cold War .

In the elections of 1958 he was defeated by the Democrat Ken Hechler . Will Neal died in Huntington on November 12, 1959.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Office of the Clerk of the US House of Representatives: The oldest known freshman Member, Dr. Will Neal of West Virginia ( Memento of the original from November 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

• Will E. Neal in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Will E. Neal in the database of Find a Grave (English)