Donald Ray "Billy" Matthews (October 3, 1907 – October 26, 1997) was 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

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

from 1953 to 1967.

Life and career

Born in

Micanopy, Florida Micanopy ( ) is a town in Alachua County, Florida, United States, located south of Gainesville. The population as of the 2010 census was 600. The oldest community in the interior of Florida that has been continually inhabited, it has a dow ...

, Matthews attended the public schools of

Hawthorne, Florida Hawthorne () is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States, incorporated in 1881. Indigenous peoples of the Americas had been living in the area since around 100 CE; Hawthorne grew around their trading trails. Throughout its history, Hawth ...

. He graduated from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

at Gainesville in 1929 and taught school in Leesburg, Florida, and in Orlando, Florida from 1929 to 1935. He also served as a high school principal in

Newberry, Florida Newberry is a city located in the southwest corner of Alachua County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,342 as of the 2020 Census. Much of the city borders neighboring Gilchrist County, to the west. The current Mayor is Jordan Marlowe ...

in 1935 and 1936. He served as a member of the State house of representatives in 1935 was a member of the administrative staff of the

from 1936 to 1952. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

1942–1946 and was discharged as a captain of Infantry. He served as assistant State

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

agent in the summers of 1928–1938.

Congress

Matthews 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 Eighty-third and to the six succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1967), during which time he was a signatory to the 1956 Southern Manifesto that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

''. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninetieth Congress in 1966, defeated in the Democratic primary by

Don Fuqua John Donald Fuqua (born August 20, 1933) is a former U.S. Democratic politician. Early years and Education Don Fuqua was born in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida in 1933. Fuqua attended the University of Florida at Gainesville from 1951 t ...

Later career and death

In his post-congressional years, Matthews worked as a consultant and administrator for the Rural Community Development Service of the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

from 1967 to 1969; and was an instructor of political science at

Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) is a public community college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It has an undergraduate population of about 4,027 students, as well as approximately 4,706 contract training and continuing education students. The college ...

(Gainesville, Florida) from 1969 to 1977. He was a resident of Gainesville, Florida until his death at the age of 90. He was interred at Hawthorne Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Donald Ray (Billy) 1907 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American politicians American school principals Schoolteachers from Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Military personnel from Florida People from Gainesville, Florida Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida People from Micanopy, Florida United States Army officers University of Florida alumni University of Florida faculty American segregationists