John R. Murdock
John Robert Murdock (April 20, 1885 – February 14, 1972) was a U.S. Representative from Arizona.
John R. Murdock | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Seat created |
| Succeeded by | John Rhodes |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's at-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Isabella Greenway |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 20, 1885 Lewistown, Missouri, USA |
| Died | February 14, 1972 (aged 86) Phoenix, Arizona |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Myrtle Cheney Murdock |
| Alma mater | University of Iowa University of Arizona University of California, Berkeley |
Born in Homestead near Lewistown, Missouri, Murdock attended the public schools. He graduated from State Teachers' College, Kirksville, Missouri, in 1912 and received a bachelor's degree at the University of Iowa in 1925. He attended graduate school at the University of Arizona and at the University of California at Berkeley.
He was an elementary school teacher and principal in Missouri before he went to the University of Iowa. He was an instructor in the Normal School at Tempe, Arizona, predecessor of Arizona State University. He was then Dean of this institution from 1933 to 1937. He wrote several textbooks on history and government.
Murdock was elected as a Democrat to the 75th Congress and to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1953. For his first six terms, he was one of two at-large congressmen from Arizona. When the state was split into two districts in 1948, Murdock was elected from the 1st District, comprising Phoenix and Maricopa County. He served as chairman of the Committee on Memorials (Seventy-eighth Congress), Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation (Seventy-ninth Congress), and Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (Eighty-second Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1952 to the Eighty-third Congress, losing to Republican challenger John Jacob Rhodes. He was the first Democratic incumbent to lose a House election in the state.
He was married to Myrtle Cheney Murdock, who popularized the accomplishments of Constantino Brumidi.[1]
He retired and resided in Scottsdale, Arizona and died in Phoenix, Arizona on February 14, 1972. He was interred in Double Butte Cemetery, Tempe, Arizona.
References
- Brumidi study of Capitol dome painting to go to Smithsonian Washington Post
- United States Congress. "John R. Murdock (id: M001081)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
External links
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Isabella Greenway |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's at-large congressional district 1937–1949 |
Succeeded by Seat eliminated |
| Preceded by Seat created |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st congressional district 1949–1953 |
Succeeded by John Jacob Rhodes |
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