Preston Elmer Peden (June 28, 1914 – June 27, 1985) was an American politician and a

U.S. 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 c ...

from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Early life and education

Born in

Duke, Oklahoma East Duke is a town in Jackson County, Oklahoma, Jackson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 424 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. Geography East Duke is located at (34.662959, -99.569631). According to the United ...

, Peden moved to

Altus, Oklahoma Altus () is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,813 at the 2010 census, a loss of 7.7 percent compared to 21,454 in 2000. Altus is home to Altus Air Force Base, the United States Air F ...

, in 1920. Following his public school education, he attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

, receiving his

A.B. 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 years ...

in 1936, and from the law school of the same university, his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1939.

Career

Peden was 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 1939 and commenced the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...

. He became the Attorney for the State Insurance Fund of the State of Oklahoma (1939–1942). He enlisted in June 1942 as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He was promoted through the ranks to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, being discharged May 5, 1946, and was awarded

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. He married German nurse Ursula Wendt on December 24, 1945, in Bavaria and they had four children. His eldest was son Robert, followed by daughters Marsha & Gretchen & youngest son Thomas, who was always referred to as "stam" as in 'stampeden' . While serving overseas Peden sent a notification and declaration for the office of

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

to the election board and subsequently received the nomination. Peden was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

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, 1947, ...

(January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949), and was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1948. He served as staff member of the Public Lands Committee 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 ...

in May 1949. He was appointed

Alaskan Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

regional counsel, Bureau of Land Management,

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 ...

, in 1950 and Counsel to House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs 1950-1952. He served as director of governmental affairs of the Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry from 1954 to 1980, while a resident of

La Grange, Illinois ''(the barn)'' , nickname = , motto = ''Tradition & Pride – Moving Forward'' , anthem = ''My La Grange'' by Jimmy Dunne , image_map = File:Cook County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas La Grange Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 26 ...

Death

Peden moved to

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek ser ...

, and lived there until his death on June 27, 1985, (age 70 years, 364 days). His burial location is unknown.

References

External links

Retrieved on 2008-07-31
Preston E. Peden Collection
an
Photograph Collection
at the

Carl Albert Center The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and infor ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peden, Preston Elmer 1914 births 1985 deaths People from Jackson County, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni Oklahoma lawyers United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II People from Walnut Creek, California People from La Grange, Illinois Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma People from Altus, Oklahoma 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American lawyers Military personnel from California Military personnel from Illinois