Robert Gray Allen (August 24, 1902August 9, 1963) was an American businessman and a two-term Democratic member of the

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

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

from 1937 to 1941.

Early life and education

Allen was born in Winchester, Massachusetts on August 24, 1902.Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975. Page 8 In 1906 he moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He was graduated from

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

, Massachusetts, in 1922 and later attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, Massachusetts. He moved to Greensburg, Pennsylvania in 1929 and was a salesman and sales manager for a valve and fittings manufacturing business until 1937.

Political and military career

He was district administrator of the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

in 1935 and 1936. Allen was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-sixth Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. He became president of the Duff-Norton Manufacturing Company in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, from 1940 to 1943. He was commissioned a major in the

United States Army Ordnance Corps The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia. The broad mission of the Ordnance Corps is to supply Army comb ...

in July 1942 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1943. He served until his discharge in January 1945. After his time in Congress and the Army, he served in a variety of business positions: *

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

(Sales manager) from 1945 to 1946 *Fisher Plastics Corporation (Vice President) in Boston, Massachusetts from 1946 to 1947 * Great Lakes Carbon Corporation (Vice President) from 1947 to 1954 *Pesco Products (President), a division of

Borg-Warner BorgWarner Inc. is an American automotive supplier headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company maintains production facilities and technical systems at 93 sites (as of June 6, 2022) in 22 countries worldwide and has around 49,000 employ ...

Corporation, from 1954–1957 * Bucyrus-Erie Company (Vice President in 1957 - 1958, and president in 1958) *Bucyrus-Erie Co. of Canada, Ltd. (chairman of the board and president) *Ruston-Bucyrus, Ltd.,

Lincoln, England Lincoln () is a cathedral city, a non-metropolitan district, and the county town of Lincolnshire, England. In the 2021 Census, the Lincoln district had a population of 103,813. The 2011 census gave the Lincoln Urban Area, urban area of Lincoln, ...

(chairman of the board) *Director of the First National Bank of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He retired from business activities in 1962 and moved from Milwaukee, to

Keene, Virginia Keene is an unincorporated community in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. As of the 1990 census, the town had a total population of 10. The town is known for being the location of the last sighting of a passenger pigeon in the wild, by ...

, where he died.

Family and personal life

Allen married Katharine Hancock Wilson on January 17, 1925. Together, they had three children.

References

Retrieved on 2008-01-26
The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Robert G. 1902 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American Episcopalians American chairpersons of corporations United States Army officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War II American bankers Harvard College alumni Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Army Ordnance Corps personnel