John Henry Kyl (May 9, 1919 – December 23, 2002) was an American politician 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 ...

, representing

Iowa's 4th congressional district Iowa's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northwestern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and the Missouri River. The district includes Sioux City, ...

from 1959 to 1965 and again from 1967 to 1973. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Kyl was born in

Wisner, Nebraska Wisner is a city in northwestern Cuming County, Nebraska, Cuming County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,170 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. History Wisner was platted in 1871 shortly before the railroad was extende ...

, the son of Johanna (née Boonstra) and Jon George Kyl, both

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

immigrants. He graduated from Nebraska State Teachers College (

Wayne, Nebraska Wayne is a city in Wayne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,660 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County and the home of Wayne State College. History Wayne was founded in 1881 when the Chicago, St. Paul, Minn ...

) and the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

Career

Kyl was a teacher at Nebraska State Teachers College from 1940 to 1950. In the 1950s, he moved to

Bloomfield, Iowa Bloomfield is a city in Davis County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,682 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Davis County. Geography Bloomfield is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, near the Missouri border. Bloomfiel ...

where he joined his brother George in the clothing business. He also worked as a

television journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

for

KTVO KTVO (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Kirksville, Missouri, United States, serving the Ottumwa, Iowa–Kirksville, Missouri market as an affiliate of ABC and CBS. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios ...

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves b ...

. Kyl ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1958, losing to

Steven V. Carter Steven V. Carter (October 8, 1915 – November 4, 1959) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from south central Iowa in 1959. Born in Carterville, Utah, at age fourteen Carter moved with his parents to Lamoni, Iowa, and graduated from Lamoni Hi ...

. However, Carter died on November 4, 1959 after less than one year in office. Kyl then won a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

to fill the vacancy. He continued to serve as the representative from

for two additional terms, but was defeated in the 1964 United States House of Representatives elections, in which Democrats gained 36 seats in the House. He recaptured his former seat in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, and then won re-election in 1968 and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

Reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionme ...

after the 1970 census put him into the same district as incumbent Democrat

Neal Edward Smith Neal Edward Smith (March 23, 1920 – November 2, 2021) was an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for the Democratic Party from Iowa from 1959 until 1995, the longest-serving Iowan in the United S ...

, who defeated him in the 1972 election. From 1973 to 1977, he served as Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs in the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

Personal life

Kyl was married to Arlene (née Griffith), with whom he had three children, including

Jon Kyl Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( ; born April 25, 1942) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013 and again in 2018. A Republican, he held both of Arizona's Senate seats at different times, ser ...

. Jon went on to serve as a three-term

U.S. Senator 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 powe ...

from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, from 1995 to 2013 and briefly in 2018. He also served as

Senate Minority Whip The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kyl, John Henry 1919 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American politicians American male journalists American people of Dutch descent Wayne State College faculty American television journalists Ford administration personnel Nixon administration personnel People from Bloomfield, Iowa People from Wisner, Nebraska United States Assistant Secretaries of the Interior University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Wayne State College alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American educators