Clare Magee (March 31, 1899 – August 7, 1969) was an American lawyer and politician from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

who served as a member of the

United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1949 to 1953.

Early life and education

Born on a farm in Putnam County near

Livonia, Missouri Livonia is a village in eastern Putnam County, Missouri, United States. The population was 52 at the 2020 census. History The plat for Livonia was laid out in May 1859 by Absalom Grogan and consisted of four blocks containing eight lots each. G ...

, Magee graduated from Unionville (Missouri) High School, and attended

Kirksville State Teachers College Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Presiden ...

and the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

. He studied law at the

University of Missouri School of Law The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The sc ...

Career

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Magee 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 ...

as a seaman first class and small arms instructor. After the war, he homesteaded in the

Bighorn Basin The Bighorn Basin is a plateau region and intermontane basin, approximately 100 miles (160 km) wide, in north-central Wyoming in the United States. It is bounded by the Absaroka Range on the west, the Pryor Mountains on the north, the Bighor ...

region and worked as a laborer for the

United States Reclamation Service The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

in Deaver, Wyoming. He was admitted to the bar in 1922, and commenced practice in

Unionville, Missouri Unionville is a city in Putnam County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,735 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County. History Unionville was first named Harmony when established in 1853 as the county seat for Putn ...

. Magee owned and operated his family's farm beginning in 1932, and was postmaster of Unionville from 1935 to 1941. Magee joined the Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and served as a private in the Field Artillery Branch. He was subsequently commissioned as a captain in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

, and served until the end of the war. In 1948 Magee was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Eighty-first Congress. He was reelected in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress, and he served from January 3, 1949, to January 3, 1953. Magee was not a candidate for renomination in 1952. During his congressional career, he earned recognition for his efforts to extend

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

benefits to veterans of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. After leaving Congress, Magee resumed the practice of law.

Personal life

In 1941, Magee was charged with in the fatal shooting of his cousin, Charles Magee. He was acquitted on a plea of temporary insanity. Evidence at his trial indicated that Clare shot Charles Magee when Charles was in police custody, and that Charles was distraught because Charles had stabbed Clare's brother, Dr. E. H. Magee. Magee died in Unionville on August 7, 1969, and was buried at Unionville Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Clare 1899 births 1969 deaths Truman State University alumni University of Missouri alumni United States Army Air Forces officers United States Navy sailors United States Army soldiers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri 20th-century American politicians People from Unionville, Missouri United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II