Raymond Francis Clevenger (June 6, 1926 – March 29, 2016) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as 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 the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

between 1965 and 1967.

Biography

Clevenger was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and attended schools in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...

, graduating from high school in 1944. 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 ...

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

from July 1944 to July 1946. He resumed his education and attended

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

in Chicago and the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. While at Roosevelt, he was elected student council president, and served alongside future Chicago mayor Harold Washington, who was the student council vice president. He graduated from Roosevelt University in 1949 and from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

in 1952.

Career

He began the practice of law in

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 census, it is the second-most populated city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette. It i ...

in 1953. He was a delegate to Democratic State Conventions, 1954–1964 and a delegate to the

1956 Democratic National Convention The 1956 Democratic National Convention nominated former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois for president and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee for vice president. It was held in the International Amphitheatre on the South Side of Chic ...

. He practiced law in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, as well as Michigan, and before the

United States federal courts The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...

and served as Chippewa County Circuit Court Commissioner, 1958–1960. He was a member of the Democratic State Central Committee, 1958–1960. He was also Michigan Corporation and Securities Commissioner, 1961–1963.

Congress

In 1964, he defeated incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Victor A. Knox to be 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 ...

from

Michigan's 11th congressional district Michigan's 11th congressional district is a United States congressional district northwest of Detroit, comprising portions of northwestern Wayne and southwestern Oakland counties. Until 1993, the district covered the state's Upper Peninsula a ...

to the Eighty-ninth Congress, serving from January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1967. He was known as one of the

Michigan Five Fluke Freshmen The Michigan Five Fluke Freshmen is the name given to five members of the U.S. House of Representatives who were elected in the Democratic landslide of 1964 and were subsequently defeated just two years later by a Republican resurgence. They incl ...

and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1966, and again in 1968, losing both times to Republican Philip Ruppe.

Later career and death

Clevenger was appointed by

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

as chairman, Great Lakes Basin Commission, 1967–1968. He later resumed the practice of law and campaigned in 1989 for Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, losing to Republican incumbent Gerald D. Jernigan. He latterly resided in Ann Arbor and died in March 2016 at the age of 89.Mention of Clevenger's death
/ref>

References

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clevenger, Raymond Francis 1926 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War II Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Illinois lawyers Michigan lawyers Military personnel from Michigan People from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Politicians from Chicago Roosevelt University alumni United States Army soldiers University of Michigan Law School alumni