Edwin Keith Thomson (February 8, 1919 – December 9, 1960), usually known as Keith Thomson, was a

United States representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. A highly decorated

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, Thomson served three terms in Wyoming's only U.S. House seat. On November 8, 1960, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, but died a month later of a heart attack before taking office.

Early life

Born in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, Wyoming, he grew up on a ranch in Crook County and attended public schools in Beulah, Wyoming, and

Spearfish, South Dakota Spearfish (Lakota: ''Hočhápȟe'') is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The population was 12,193 at the time of the 2020 census. History Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily bands ...

. He graduated in 1941 from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

Law School in Laramie. While in law school he met his wife, Thyra Godfrey Thomson, and they were married in 1939.

Military service

Thomson was called to

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be one ...

on March 24, 1941 and commanded the Second Battalion, Three Hundred and Sixty-second Infantry Regiment, Ninety-first Division. He was released from active duty as a lieutenant colonel on January 24, 1946. He had been admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1941 and commenced the practice of law in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

in February 1946; he was a delegate to the

1952 Republican National Convention The 1952 Republican National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 7 to 11, 1952, and nominated the popular general and war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower of New York, nicknamed "Ike," for president and ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and was a member of the

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state, each with a population of ...

from 1952 to 1954.

Political career

Thomson was elected as a member of the Republican Party to the Eighty-fourth, Eighty-fifth, and Eighty-sixth Congresses and served from January 3, 1955, until his death. Thomson voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and

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 ...

. He did not seek renomination to the Eighty-seventh Congress, but was elected to 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 ...

on November 8, 1960, for the term commencing January 3, 1961. However, he died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Cody Cody may refer to: People *Cody (given name) *Cody (surname) * Cody (wrestler), a ring name of Cody Runnels Places Canada * Cody, British Columbia United States * Cody, Florida * Cody (Duluth), Minnesota * Cody, Missouri * Cody, Nebraska *Cody, ...

, Wyoming in December, before his term in the Senate began. Democratic Governor

John J. Hickey John Joseph Hickey (August 22, 1911 – September 22, 1970) was an American judge and politician who served the 24th Governor of Wyoming and Senator as a Democrat before sitting on the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He was the first G ...

appointed himself to the seat but was defeated in a 1962 special election to serve out the term by Republican

Milward L. Simpson Milward Lee Simpson (November 12, 1897June 11, 1993) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator and as the 23rd Governor of Wyoming, the first born in the state. In 1985, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the Na ...

. Thomson was interred at

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 ...

. Following Thomson's death, his wife Thyra Thomson was elected in 1962 as

Wyoming Secretary of State The secretary of state of Wyoming is the state secretary of state of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is a constitutional office, established under the Constitution of Wyoming and the secretary of state accedes to the governorship in case of a vac ...

. She was re-elected to five more terms, and served in that office for twenty-four years, until 1987.Obituary
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References

External links

* Th
Edwin Keith Thomson papers
at th
American Heritage Center
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Edwin 1919 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Elected officials who died without taking their seats Republican Party members of the Wyoming House of Representatives People from Crook County, Wyoming People from Lawrence County, South Dakota People from Newcastle, Wyoming Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wyoming Republican Party United States senators from Wyoming University of Wyoming College of Law alumni Wyoming lawyers

Early life

Military service

Political career

See also

References

External links