Alan Harvey Bible (November 20, 1909 – September 12, 1988) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he served as a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

from 1954 to 1974. He previously served as

Attorney General of Nevada The Nevada Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Nevada. The functions of the office are set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 228. The Attorney General represents the people of Nevada in civil and criminal mat ...

from 1942 to 1950.

Early life and education

Alan Bible was born in Lovelock,

, to Jacob Harvey and Isabel (née Welsh) Bible. His family was originally from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and settled in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

; Bible's grandfather moved to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and subsequently fought with the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. His father operated a grocery store and a cattle ranch outside of Lovelock, while his mother worked as a schoolteacher. The family lived on their ranch until 1919, when a fire destroyed their home. They then moved to Fallon, where Bible attended Oats Park Grammar School and

Churchill County High School Churchill County High School is located in Fallon, Churchill County, Nevada. The building was built in 1917, and was opened in 1920. Academics Part of the Churchill County School District, operating under the Principal Kevin Lords, the school ha ...

. During high school, he was active in

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...

and served as president of the freshman and senior classes. Bible then studied at the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant ...

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

, from where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1930. He joined the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

fraternity in his sophomore year, and became class treasurer and assistant editor of '' The Sagebrush'' in his junior year. In 1934, Bible earned his law degree from

Georgetown University Law School The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and t ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

While studying in Washington, he was given a job as an elevator operator in the Capitol Building by Senator

Pat McCarran Patrick Anthony McCarran (August 8, 1876 – September 28, 1954) was an American farmer, attorney, judge, and Democratic politician who represented Nevada in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1954. McCarran was born in Reno, Nevada, atte ...

Early career

Bible was admitted to the Nevada bar in 1935 and joined Senator McCarran's law firm in Reno. Six months later, he was appointed

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 ...

Storey County Storey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,104, making it the third-least populous county, but one of the fastest-growing economies in Nevada. In 2018, over 18,000 people were emplo ...

, a position he held for three years. He became active in the affairs of the

, organizing a chapter of the Young Democrats and helping select delegates to the state Democratic Committee. He also became a prominent member of the political machine run by Senator McCarran. From 1938 to 1942, he served as deputy

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of Nevada. In 1939, Bible married Loucile Shields; the couple had one daughter, Debra, and three sons, Paul, William, and David. He was elected

in 1942, defeating

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate

John Rolly Ross John Rolly Ross (March 1, 1899 – April 22, 1963) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Education and career Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Ross graduated from Lyon County High Schoo ...

by more than 7,000 votes. During his tenure, he strengthened the state's power to regulate the

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

industry and became an expert in

water law Water resources law (in some jurisdictions, shortened to "water law") is the field of law dealing with the ownership, control, and use of water as a resource. It is most closely related to property law, and is distinct from Water quality law, l ...

. He served as attorney general until 1950, when he returned to private practice.

U.S. Senate

In 1952, Bible was narrowly defeated for the Democratic nomination for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, losing to political newcomer Thomas B. Mechling by 475 votes. However, after the death of Senator McCarran in September 1954, Bible was elected to the Senate the following November to fill the remainder of McCarran's term. He defeated Republican

Ernest S. Brown Ernest S. Brown (September 25, 1903July 23, 1965) served briefly as a United States senator from Nevada in 1954. Ernest Brown, born in Alturas, California, moved with his family to Reno, Nevada, in 1906, where he later attended the public schools ...

, who had been appointed to McCarran's seat by Governor

Charles H. Russell Charles Hinton Russell (December 27, 1903 – September 13, 1989) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Nevada, 20th Governor of Nevada. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Bio ...

, by a margin of 58%-42%. Bible was reelected in 1956, 1962, and 1968 and represented Nevada in the

from December 2, 1954, until his resignation on December 17, 1974. He did not run for reelection in 1974; Republican

Paul Laxalt Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

defeated Democratic nominee

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...

. Bible's resignation enabled the governor to appoint Laxalt to fill the vacancy, giving him seniority over other senators elected in 1974. After leaving the Senate, Bible was elected to the Board of Directors of Bally Manufacturing Corporation.Bally Manufacturing Corporation annual Report & Proxy Statement dated 1975. During his time in the United States Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia (Eighty-fifth through Ninetieth Congresses), the Joint Committee on Washington Metropolitan Problems (Eighty-fifth and Eighty-sixth Congresses), and the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Small Business (Ninety-first through Ninety-third Congresses). He is buried in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

References

External links

Alan Bible
Recollections of a Nevada Native Son: The Law, Politics, the Nevada Attorney General's Office, and the United States Senate (oral history). University of Nevada Oral History Program. Reno, NV, 1982.
A Guide to the Papers of Alan Bible
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bible, Alan 1909 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party United States senators from Nevada Nevada Attorneys General District attorneys in Nevada Georgetown University Law Center alumni University of Nevada, Reno alumni Nevada Democrats American people of German descent People from Fallon, Nevada People from Lovelock, Nevada

Early life and education

Early career

U.S. Senate

See also

References

External links