Robert E. Harris (December 18, 1935 – November 29, 1996) is an American politician who was a Republican in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

Biography

Harris was born to an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

family on December 18, 1935, in Joplin, Missouri, and later moved to Fairfax, Virginia. He graduated from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

with a BA, and later graduated from the USA Nuclear Reactor Engineering School. He served as a member of the Army Nuclear Power Program for 5.5 years. Harris began his political career as a Republican in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1974 from Virginia's 8th congressional district after winning the Republican nomination against John F. Herrity. He served until his

death in office A death in office is the death of a person who was incumbent of an office-position until the time of death. Such deaths have been usually due to natural causes, but they are also caused by accidents, suicides, disease and assassinations. The death ...

on November 29, 1996, of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

, at the age of 60. He was buried on December 2. Fairfax City Democratic chairman Austin Morrill posthumously accused Harris of misleading Democrats into thinking he was recovering, as he wrote a letter saying he was.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Robert E. 1935 births 1996 deaths Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates 20th-century Virginia politicians 20th-century American legislators George Washington University alumni Politicians from Joplin, Missouri Politicians from Fairfax, Virginia