Nelson Robert Allen (October 27, 1933–April 28, 2005) was a former

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

state Senator renowned for his commitment to education. Allen was a resident of Greenup County, KY. He was born in Hueysville, Kentucky,

Floyd County, Kentucky Floyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,942. Its county seat is Prestonsburg. The county, founded in 1800, is named for Colonel John Floyd (1750–1783). History On Decembe ...

and received a master's degree in Education as well as an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from Morehead State University. He was also a

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

veteran of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Allen was elected to the state Senate in 1973 from the 18th District (which includes Greenup, Carter, Lewis, Mason, Bracken, and Robertson Counties) and served until 1991. He was chairman of the Senate Education Committee from 1976 to 1990 and was among the legislators most involved in crafting the landmark 1990

Kentucky Education Reform Act Education in Kentucky includes elementary school (kindergarten through fifth grade in most areas), middle school (or junior high, sixth grade through eighth grade in most locations), high school (ninth through twelfth grade in most locations), a ...

. Allen was named Most Colorful Senator in the 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1982 sessions by the Capitol Press Corps. Allen served as principal of Bellefonte and Russell Central Elementary Schools in the Russell Independent School district from 1960 to 1994. He also served as president of the Eastern Kentucky Education Association and was also elected to the Greenup County Fiscal Court, a position he held at the time of his death. Allen was also a well known college and high school

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

official. He was survived by his wife of 40 years, Carol Lynne Rice Allen of

Bellefonte, Kentucky Bellefonte is a home rule-class city in Greenup County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 888 at the 2010 census. Bellefonte is a part of the Huntington- Ashland, WV- KY- OH Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). In 2013, according t ...

, who was unsuccessful in her 2006 bid for the state Senate seat once held by her husband.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Nelson 1933 births 2005 deaths Kentucky state senators People from Greenup County, Kentucky People from Floyd County, Kentucky Military personnel from Kentucky Morehead State University alumni 20th-century American politicians