Allen Edward Ertel (November 7, 1937 – November 19, 2015) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district is represented by Democrat Conor Lamb. The district encompasses the entirety of Beaver County, a small portion of southwestern Butler County, and all parts of Allegheny County not part of the 18th d ...

from 1977 to 1983.

Early life

Allen Ertel was born in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

. He graduated with an AB from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1958, an MS from the

Thayer School of Engineering Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth (Dartmouth Engineering) offers graduate and undergraduate education in engineering sciences at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The school was established in 1867 with funds from C ...

and

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

Tuck School of Business The Tuck School of Business (also known as Tuck, and formally known as the Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance) is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College, a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Founded in ...

in 1959, and a

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

in 1965. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1959 to 1962.

Career

He clerked for Chief Judge

Caleb Wright Caleb Wright (1 August 1810 – 28 April 1898) was an English mill owner and Liberal politician in Lancashire, north-west England. Family and chapel Wright was one of thirteen children of William Wright, bookmaker of Tyldesley, near Manchester ...

of the Federal District Court of Delaware from 1965 to 1966, and was the

Lycoming County Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. ...

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

from 1967 to 1977. He was a delegate to

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1972. Ertel was elected in 1976 as a Democrat to the

95th 95 or 95th may refer to: * 95 (number) * one of the years 95 BC, AD 95, 1995, 2095, etc. * 95th Division (disambiguation) * 95th Regiment ** 95th Regiment of Foot (disambiguation) * 95th Squadron (disambiguation) * Atomic number 95: americium *M ...

, 96th, and

97th Congress The 97th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 198 ...

es. He was not a candidate for reelection in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, but was an unsuccessful candidate for

Governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. After his unsuccessful run for governor, he unsuccessfully sought the office of

Pennsylvania Attorney General The Pennsylvania Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1980. The current Attorney General is Democrat Josh Shapiro. On August 15, 2016, then-Attorney General Kath ...

in 1984, before returning to the practice of law in Williamsport.

Death

Ertel died on November 19, 2015 in

after suddenly collapsing, aged 78. He was survived by his wife Catherine and their two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ertel, Allen E. 1937 births 2015 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Thayer School of Engineering alumni Tuck School of Business alumni Yale Law School alumni County district attorneys in Pennsylvania Politicians from Williamsport, Pennsylvania 20th-century American politicians