Earle Cabell (October 27, 1906 – September 24, 1975) was a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

. Cabell was mayor at the time of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy and was later a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life

Cabell was born in Dallas. He graduated from

North Dallas High School North Dallas High School is a public secondary school located in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas, Texas, United States. It enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. As of 2017, the principal admini ...

in 1925. He attended Texas A&M University for one term, where he met Jack Crichton and H.R. "Bum" Bright, and thereafter

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , pr ...

for one term. He and his brothers founded Cabell's Inc., a chain of dairies and convenience stores. He later became involved with

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and other investments. In April 1961, he was elected mayor to succeed Robert L. Thornton.

Family

Cabell was the youngest of four sons of the then former Dallas Mayor Ben E. Cabell and also the grandson of the former Dallas Mayor William L. Cabell. He was the brother of

Charles Cabell Charles Pearre Cabell (October 11, 1903 – May 25, 1971) was a United States Air Force general and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1953–1962). Early life Charles P. Cabell was born in Dallas, Texas on October 11, 1903, th ...

, who was deputy director of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

until Charles was fired in the wake of the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Assassination of Kennedy

Cabell and his wife met United States President John F. Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy at Love Field on the morning of November 22, 1963. Cabell's wife reported that while riding in Kennedy's motorcade through Dealey Plaza, she observed "a rather long looking thing" sticking out of a window of the

Texas School Book Depository The Texas School Book Depository, now known as the Dallas County Administration Building, is a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. The building was Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point during the assassination of United Sta ...

immediately after the first shot. After receiving word from the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

that he was the subject of a death threat, Cabell was guarded by police when he traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend Kennedy's funeral and also upon his return to Dallas. One version of John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories, the " Renegade CIA Clique" theory, implicates Cabell and other alleged conspirators, including CIA officials James Jesus Angleton, William King Harvey, and Cabell's brother

. This theory claims Earl Cabell re-routed Kennedy's motorcade as a favor to his brother.

Congress

On February 3, 1964, Cabell resigned as mayor of Dallas in order to run for Congress. He unseated the ten-year Republican incumbent Bruce Alger. In that same election, Jack Crichton was defeated by a wide margin by the

Democratic 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 ...

Texas Governor The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, w ...

John B. Connally, Jr. John Bowden Connally Jr. (February 27, 1917June 15, 1993) was an American politician. He served as the 39th governor of Texas and as the 61st United States secretary of the Treasury. He began his career as a Democrat and later became a Republican ...

, and George Herbert Walker Bush fell to

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

Ralph W. Yarborough. Cabell served four terms in the House before he was defeated by the Republican Alan Steelman in the 1972 election. Cabell voted in favor of the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...

and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Later life

Following his defeat, he retired in Dallas, where he lived until his death in 1975 from

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the a ...

. He was buried at

Restland Cemetery Restland Memorial Park is a cemetery located in an unincorporated area of Dallas County, Texas between Dallas and Richardson. It is the final resting place of many prominent figures in the Dallas area, including politicians and professional athle ...

in Dallas.

Legacy

The Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse on Commerce Street in Dallas is named in his honor.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabell, Earle 1906 births 1975 deaths 20th-century American politicians American businesspeople in retailing Deaths from emphysema Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Mayors of Dallas Texas A&M University alumni Witnesses to the assassination of John F. Kennedy