Hugh Meade Alcorn Jr. (October 20, 1907 – January 13, 1992) was a
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
lawyer and
political figure
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He was a native of
Suffield, Connecticut
Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. As of the 2020 census, ...
.
Biography
He was born on October 20, 1907 to Cora Terry (Wells) and Hugh Meade Alcorn Sr.
He attended
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
and
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
. An attorney, he was a partner in the once-prominent Connecticut law firm Tyler, Cooper & Alcorn.
Alcorn was a key figure in Connecticut politics following
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 opposing ...
. He served as State Representative,
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
floor leader, and then Speaker of the
Connecticut House of Representatives
The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...
. He also served as Hartford State's Attorney. As the Republican leader in the
Connecticut General Assembly
The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...
, he was often paired against
John Bailey, his legendary
Democratic counterpart.
Alcorn joined the Republican National Committee in 1953, and was the
chairman of the Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fun ...
between 1957 and 1959, during the presidency of
Dwight Eisenhower. He was also the great-great nephew of
U.S. Senator and
Governor of Mississippi
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
James Lusk Alcorn.
He died of a stroke on January 13, 1992.
Personal life
Alcorn was married to Marcia Powell Alcorn after the death of his first wife, Janet. He had only one daughter, named Eileen. His brother
Howard Alcorn was chief justice of the
Connecticut Supreme Court
The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in Hartford, ac ...
.
References
External links
Hugh Mead (sic) Alcorn entryat
The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...
*
The Papers of Hugh Meade Alcornat Dartmouth College Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcorn, Meade
1907 births
1992 deaths
20th-century American politicians
Connecticut lawyers
Dartmouth College alumni missing graduation year
Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives
People from Suffield, Connecticut
Republican National Committee chairs
Yale Law School alumni
20th-century American lawyers