Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg II (September 25, 1887 – January 19, 1980) was a leading

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, an American military and political leader who served as a US Congressman from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and a member of the Muhlenberg political dynasty.

Early life and education

Muhlenberg was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in

Berks County Berks County (Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware River, ...

on September 25, 1887. He was the son of Dr. William Frederick and Henrietta Augusta (Muhlenberg) Muhlenberg, a grandson of Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg, and a great-great-grandson of Rev. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg. A 1904 graduate of Reading Boys' High School, Muhlenberg attended

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in 1908. Muhlenberg earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1912, followed by his

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

from Gettysburg College in 1915, while serving as an officer of the T-Square Club. He received an honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree in 1942 from

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German patriarch of Luthe ...

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...

Military service

During World War I, he was a captain in the 314th Infantry Regiment serving from September 1917 to March 1919. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

, the Legion of Merit, the Verdun Medal, the Légion d’Honneur and the Croix de Guerre with Palm for his actions in World War I. Muhlenberg served continuously in the regular army reserves for more than 20 years. He re-entered the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in 1940, where he served during World War II as a lieutenant colonel and

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, as an aide to Gen. Brehon Summervell, and as district engineer in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Architecture

As an architect, Muhlenberg apprenticed with Charles Barton Keen, Magaziner & Potter, and John T. Windrim in Philadelphia. In 1917 he began operating independently, and on May 1, 1919, following his service in World War I, he announced a reopening of his Philadelphia office. In 1920, Muhlenberg joined the Philadelphia Chapter of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

(AIA), and opened an office of Frederick A. Muhlenberg, Architect, in Reading. He is listed in the Philadelphia city directories as an architect in 1921, 1922 and 1923, with his residential address given as Reading. By the mid-1920s, the practice, now located exclusively in Reading, was thriving. The firm continued through several reorganizations to its present form as Muhlenberg Greene Architects. During the intervening years, to accommodate the reorganizations, the firm operated for various periods under the following names (dates, in some cases, are approximate): *Frederick A. Muhlenberg, Architect, 1920–1930 *Muhlenberg & Muhlenberg, 1925–1935 :(Partner was Frederick Hunter Muhlenberg II, previously of

Muhlenberg Brothers Muhlenberg Brothers was one of the dominant architecture/engineering firms in Reading, Pennsylvania during the first half of the 20th century. History It was established in 1892 by Charles Henry Muhlenberg IV (1870–1960), who graduated from the ...

) *Muhlenberg, Yerkes, Muhlenberg, 1935–1954 :(Partners were Simeon M. Yerkes and Charles Rick Muhlenberg) *Muhlenberg and Yerkes, 1954–1959 *Frederick A. Muhlenberg & Associates, 1959–1965 *Muhlenberg-Greene-Veres, 1965–1972 :(Partners were Lawrence A. Greene, Jr. and Elmer Veres) *Muhlenberg Greene Architects, 1972–1980 *Muhlenberg Greene Architects, Ltd., 1980–present In the 1950s, Muhlenberg was elected a

Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

Politics

Muhlenberg served on the Reading City Council from 1932–1936, and he was a councilman for the Borough of Wernersville during the 1920s, where he returned to live in his later years. He became the Republican Party chairman for Berks County from 1935–1940. In 1946, Muhlenberg was elected to the

80th Congress The 80th 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, DC from January 3, 194 ...

from Pennsylvania. He became the seventh member of his family to be elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served in the House of Representatives from January 3, 1947, until January 3, 1949; but he lost a re-election bid in 1948, defeated by Democrat George M. Rhodes.

Retirement

In a personal biography he furnished to the '' Reading Eagle'', Muhlenberg listed the accomplishments of a "life built on service in four separate careers: architecture, military, social service and political." Retiring officially from Muhlenberg Greene Architects in 1977, one week after his 90th birthday, Muhlenberg continued to go to the office daily, until physical limitations prevented him from doing so about a year later. "You can't actually retire," he said at the time. "There really isn't any such thing. I don't intend to sit on my fanny and do nothing. At 90 years old, you change and have physical limitations. The pace may slow down, but the ideas are still there." Muhlenberg died at 92 years of age in Reading on January 19, 1980. As a veteran, he was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. A collection of awards, military medals, paperwork and other items related to Representative Muhlenberg is held by the Historical Society of Berks County.

Associations

Frederick Muhlenberg served as chairman for numerous civic and professional organizations, including the Association of Schuylkill River Municipalities, Director of the American Red Cross Berks County Chapter (1929-), Chairman of the Red Cross Disaster Relief Commission (1935), the State Board of Examiners of Architects, President of the Social Welfare League (1922–1935), Public Charities Association (1927-), and the State Art Commission (1952–1963). Most notably, he served at the Berks County Planning Commission, leading as Chairman from the Commission's founding in 1954 until 1972 when he retired. In addition, he was a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board. Muhlenberg served as commander of Gregg Post, American Legion, in 1924, and a member of General Hunter Liggett Post, No. 38, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Reading Post, No. 10, Disabled American Veterans.

Awards

Listed in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

'', Muhlenberg received scores of educational, civilian, military and social service awards, including: *''Man of the Year'', Reading Chamber of Commerce, 1960 *''Community Service Award'', Reading Chamber of Commerce, 1967 *''Good Citizenship Award'', Gen. George G. Meade Camp No. 16,

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is an American congressionally chartered fraternal organization that carries out activities to preserve the history and legacy of the United States Armed Forces veterans who fought during the Civil ...

, 1970 *''Silver Bowl'', Manufacturers Association of Berks County, in recognition of outstanding service to the community, 1972 *''Man of the Year'', Rotary Club of Reading, 1975

References

External links

Retrieved 26 July 2008. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhlenberg, Frederick Augustus 1887 births 1980 deaths Politicians from Reading, Pennsylvania Muhlenberg family Gettysburg College alumni University of Pennsylvania School of Design alumni Architects from Pennsylvania 20th-century American architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania city council members United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Pennsylvania Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Legion of Merit Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 20th-century American politicians