Edmond Augustus Edmondson (April 7, 1919 – December 8, 1990) was an American

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 ...

veteran, lawyer, and politician from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. He served 10 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1953 to 1973. He was defeated in U.S. Senate elections in Oklahoma three times in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Early life

He was born and raised in

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

, where he attended public school before going on to attend Muskogee Junior College. Following graduation from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

in 1940, he joined the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

, serving as a special agent until 1943. From 1943 to 1946, 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 ...

and continued in the reserves until 1970. He earned a law degree from

Georgetown University Law Center 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 ...

in 1947.

Political career

He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1953 to 1973. In the 1972 election, he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate, but narrowly lost the general election to former

Oklahoma Governor The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the ''ex officio ...

Dewey F. Bartlett Dewey Follett Bartlett Sr. (March 28, 1919 – March 1, 1979) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, following his fellow Republican, Henry Bellmon. In 1966, he became the first Roman Ca ...

. Edmondson did not sign the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...

. In the 1974 election, he ran for the state's other U.S. Senate seat, losing to incumbent

Henry Bellmon Henry Louis Bellmon (September 3, 1921 – September 29, 2009) was an American Republican politician from the U.S. State of Oklahoma. A member of the Oklahoma Legislature, he went on to become both the 18th and 23rd governor of Oklahoma, mai ...

by less than 1 percent of the vote. In the 1978 election, he made a surprise late entry in the U.S. Senate race, losing the Democratic primary runoff to popular Governor

David Boren David Lyle Boren (born April 21, 1941) is a retired American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senate ...

by a wide margin.

Family

He and his wife June had five children, including their sons, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice James E. Edmondson, and former Oklahoma Attorney General

Drew Edmondson William Andrew Edmondson (born October 12, 1946), known as Drew Edmondson, is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, Edmondson served as the 16th Attorney General of Oklahoma from 1995 t ...

. His brother was

J. Howard Edmondson James Howard Edmondson (September 27, 1925November 17, 1971) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. He served as the 16th governor of Oklahoma from 1959 to 1963, and the appointed United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1963 ...

, a former

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gove ...

and U.S. Senator.

Death and legacy

He died in Muskogee, Oklahoma on December 8, 1990. In 2003, the federal courthouse in Muskogee was renamed the

Ed Edmondson United States Courthouse The Ed Edmondson United States Courthouse, previously called the Muskogee Federal Building- United States Courthouse, is a historic government building in Muskogee, Oklahoma. It was built in 1915 as a post office and federal courthouse. Although i ...

in his honor."Statement on H.R. 1668."
The White House (news release). September 17, 2003. Retrieved 10-12-09

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmondson, Ed 1919 births 1990 deaths Candidates in the 1972 United States elections Candidates in the 1974 United States elections Candidates in the 1978 United States elections Federal Bureau of Investigation agents United States Navy reservists Georgetown University Law Center alumni University of Oklahoma alumni Politicians from Muskogee, Oklahoma Military personnel from Oklahoma Edmondson family Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma 20th-century American politicians United States Navy personnel of World War II