Victor Alfred Knox (January 13, 1899 – December 13, 1976) was a politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He served six terms in the

United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1953 to 1965.

Early life and education

Knox was born on a farm in

Chippewa County, Michigan Chippewa County is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 36,785. The county seat is Sault Ste. Marie. The county is named for the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people, and was set off an ...

, near Sault Ste. Marie; his father was from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He attended the public schools and engaged in farming until 1943. He was the treasurer of Soo Township in 1923 and 1924, and Chippewa County supervisor, 1925-1931. Knox was member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

, 1937–1952, serving as the speaker pro tempore and Republican floor leader, 1943–1946, and as speaker, 1947-1952. He was also the manager of the Chippewa County Farm Bureau, 1943–1946 and engaged in the retail plumbing and heating business in Sault Ste. Marie in 1946. He served on the Council of State Government, the State Planning Commission, the State Crime Commission, and the

Soo Locks The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lowe ...

Centennial Commission.

Congress

Knox was elected as a

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 ...

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 an ...

to the

83rd United States Congress The 83rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1953, until January 3, 1955, during the last two weeks of the Truman administration, with ...

and to the five succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1965. Knox voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, but voted against the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1964, losing in the general election to

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 ...

Raymond F. Clevenger.

Death

Knox died in

Petoskey, Michigan Petoskey ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat and largest city in Emmet County. Part of Northern Michigan, Petoskey is a popular Midwestern resort town, as it sits on the shore of Little Traverse Bay, a bay of La ...

and is interred at Oaklawn Chapel Gardens, fifteen miles south of Sault Ste. Marie.

References

The Political Graveyard

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Victor Alfred 1899 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American politicians American people of Canadian descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Burials in Michigan County commissioners in Michigan Speakers of the Michigan House of Representatives People from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan