Robert Thompson Secrest (January 22, 1904 near

Senecaville, Ohio Senecaville is a village in Guernsey County, Ohio, United States. The population was 457 at the 2010 census. History Senecaville was platted in 1815, and named after nearby Seneca Creek. A post office called Senecaville has been in operation sin ...

– May 15, 1994, in

Cambridge, Ohio Cambridge is a city in and the county seat of Guernsey County, Ohio, United States. It lies in southeastern Ohio, in the Appalachian Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains 74 miles east of Columbus. The population was 10,635 at the 2010 census. I ...

)(18 May 1994)
Robert T. Secret Dies
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' was an American Democratic

representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

from the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He served in Congress three separate times: 1933 to 1942, 1949 to 1954, and 1963 to 1966, resigning each time prior to the end of his term.

Biography

Robert Secrest was born at Senacaville, Guernsey County, Ohio, the eldest son of a miner, Robert Waits Secrest (1880-1929), and his wife Amelia née Thompson. Robert attended the State public schools. He subsequently graduated from Muskingum College in

New Concord, Ohio New Concord is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Muskingum County, Ohio, Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population is 2,491 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. New Concord is the home of Muskingum University and ...

, 1926,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

College of Law, 1938, and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, 1943. He graduated from British School of Civil Affairs,

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, 1943. Secrest was superintendent of the

Murray City, Ohio Murray City is a village in Hocking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 449 at the 2010 census. History Murray City was platted in 1873 and incorporated in 1891. It was named for John Murray Brown, the original owner of the town site ...

schools 1931-1932. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives 1931 - 1932. He 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 rd to th United States Congresses, and served March 4, 1933 to August 3, 1942, when he resigned to join the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He was later promoted to Commander and served until February 28, 1946 in

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and the Pacific. Secrest ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1946, and acted as legal supervisor for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

in 1946 - 1947. He was elected to the st through rd Congresses, and served January 3, 1949 to September 26, 1954, when he resigned to become a member of the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

. He served on that commission 1954 - 1961, and was Director of Commerce, State of Ohio in 1962. Secrest again was elected to the th and th Congresses, and served January 3, 1963 to December 30, 1966, when he again resigned after failing at re-election in 1966. He was a member of the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

, 1969–1973, and member of the National Council of the

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, 1978 to 1987. He died May 15, 1994 in

. At the time of his death, he was the earliest serving former congressman as well as the last one to have served during the Herbert Hoover administration.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Secrest, Robert Thompson People from Guernsey County, Ohio 1904 births 1994 deaths Democratic Party Ohio state senators Muskingum University alumni Columbia University alumni Federal Trade Commission personnel Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American politicians People from Noble County, Ohio Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio