Harlan Francis Hagen (October 8, 1914 – November 25, 1990) was an American lawyer and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veteran who served as a

United States 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 ...

from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he served in 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 1953 to 1967, representing the 14th and 18th districts of California.

Early life and education

Born in Lawton, North Dakota, Hagen graduated from

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. He went on to graduate from

Long Beach City College Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...

in 1933 and from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

with an

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 yea ...

degree in 1936. In 1940, he received an

L.L.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 ...

from Berkeley. After receiving his law degree, Hagen entered the private practice of law. During

, he served in the

U.S. 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, cl ...

from 1943 to 1946.

Political career

Hagen was elected to the city council of

Hanford, California Hanford is a city and county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 53,967 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History ...

in 1948. Later that year, he was elected to the California State Assembly where he served from 1949 to 1952.

Congress

In 1952, Hagen was elected to the 83rd Congress as a Democrat, defeating Republican Congressman

Thomas Werdel Thomas Harold Werdel (September 13, 1905 – September 30, 1966) was an American politician and lawyer who served as an assembly member and Representative from California as a member of the Republican Party. Werdel was staunchly conservative ...

with 51% of the vote

He went on to serve seven terms in the House of Representatives, from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1967. Hagen was defeated for reelection in 1966 by the Republican candidate,

Bob Mathias Robert Bruce Mathias (November 17, 1930 – September 2, 2006) was an American decathlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist in the event, a United States Marine Corps officer, actor and United States Congressman representing the state of Californ ...

, by a margin of 55.9% to 44.1% in what was by then designated as the 18th Distric

He tried to win the seat back from Mathias in 1968 but was again defeated, receiving only 33.4% of the vote

Death

Hagen died on November 25, 1990 in Hanford, California.HAGEN, Harlan Francis - Biographical Information
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagen, Harlan 1914 births 1990 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California People from Ramsey County, North Dakota University of California, Berkeley administrators California city council members United States Army personnel of World War II Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from Hanford, California 20th-century American politicians Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni 20th-century American academics