 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "F. Edward Hébert" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
F. Edward Hébert | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Joachim O. Fernández |
| Succeeded by | Richard A. Tonry |
| Chair of the House Armed Services Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Philip J. Philbin |
| Succeeded by | Charles Melvin Price |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Felix Edward Hébert (1901-10-12)October 12, 1901 New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | December 29, 1979(1979-12-29) (aged 78) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Resting place | Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum, New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | John M. Duhé Jr. (Son-in-law) |
| Children | Dawn Marie Hébert |
| Alma mater | Tulane University |
| Profession | Journalist |
Felix Edward Hébert (/eɪˈbɛər/ay-BEAR;[1] October 12, 1901 – December 29, 1979) was an American journalist and politician fromLouisiana. He represented theNew Orleans–based1st congressional district as aDemocrat for 18 consecutive terms, from 1941 until his retirement in 1977. He remains Louisiana'slongest-serving U.S. representative.
Hébert was born in New Orleans to Felix Joseph Hébert, a streetcar conductor, and the former Lea Naquin, a teacher. As a boy he loved sports, but after a shooting accident left him blind in his left eye at the age of nine,[2] he could not play. However, atJesuit High School he compensated by becoming manager of all the athletic teams.[3] He reported on prep-school sports forThe Times-Picayune, becoming the paper's assistant sports editor before he was out of high school,[4] and atTulane University he was the first sports editor of theHullabaloo.
Hébert graduated from Tulane in 1924. He pursued a career inpublic relations forLoyola University in New Orleans and journalism for theTimes-Picayune and the New OrleansStates, a paper purchased byThe Times-Picayune while Hébert worked there. As a front-page columnist and political editor, he covered the candidacy and election ofGovernorHuey Long, who was eventually elected to theUnited States Senate."In 1939, after being promoted to city editor, Mr. Hebert broke the story of political corruption that became known as the "Louisiana scandals," leading to the jailing of many Long associates and triggering Mr. Hebert's political career, reportedly at the urging of former Gov. James A. Noe, who had broken with the Long machine and reportedly supplied the tip that led to the expose.'[5]— which put a spotlight on corruption among followers of theLong political family — contributed to the eventual convictions of GovernorRichard W. Leche andJames Monroe Smith, president ofLouisiana State University.The Times-Picayune won theSigma Delta Chi plaque for "courage in journalism", largely as a result of Hébert's work.
"As a member of the Armed Services Committee. He joined the states' rightsDixiecrat revolt in 1948, the only member of the Louisiana delegation to the Democratic National Convention to do so, kindling a feud with President Truman."[5] In later life, Hébert said he never considered himself a politician. He described himself as "an old reporter on a long sabbatical".[6] In 1969 he said, "I had no political ambition whatsoever. I never intended to enter public office; I had never been in public office. In this time, it looked to me like a pretty good chance to be a better reporter if I came to Washington. They got me on sabbatical leave for two years because I knew I would never be re-elected."[4]
Hébert's work also led to his election in 1940 to the77th United States Congress. Hébert served in the United States House of Representatives until the end of the94th United States Congress, having chosen not to seek a nineteenth term in 1976. That longevity set a Louisiana record for the service in the United States House of Representatives. Hébert was temporarily succeeded by the DemocratRichard Alvin Tonry, who in turn was quickly replaced byBob Livingston, the first Republican to represent the district since theReconstruction Era. The seat has remained in Republican hands ever since, passing from Livingston toDavid Vitter toBobby Jindal toSteve Scalise.
He joined theUnited States House Committee on Armed Services and was named chairman of the committee's Special Investigations subcommittee.
Hébert was the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services from 1971 to 1975. When ChairmanL. Mendel Rivers died, on December 29, 1970,lame duck committee memberPhilip J. Philbin took his place; Philbin's term ran out three and a half days later, and Hébert took the post.[7]
Hébert brought millions of dollars in military investment to his district in Louisiana.[8]
Hébert requiredPat Schroeder andRon Dellums, a female and Black Representative respectively, to share a seat in the committee room; Schroeder recalled him saying, "The two of you are only worth half the normal member." He refused to approve her appointment to a U.S. delegation heading to an overseas conference, reportedly remarking, "I wouldn't send you to represent this committee at a dogfight." TheState Department eventually waived the rule requiring the chairman's approval of all nominations, and Mrs. Schroeder made the trip.[9]
He was removed from the chairmanship in a revolt of the increasingly young andliberalHouse Democratic Caucus against theseniority system. Many of the younger Democrats were not pleased when he addressed the new members from theWatergate Class of 1974 as "boys and girls". GovernorEdwin Edwards, New Orleans MayorMoon Landrieu and the Louisiana House delegation chided the caucus for ousting Hebert as his years of political experience had generated thousands of jobs and brought millions of dollars into the state.[8]
On August 1, 1934, Hébert married Gladys Bofill. The couple had one daughter, Dawn Marie, who married a future judge of theFifth Circuit Court of Appeals,John Malcolm Duhé Jr., ofIberia Parish. Dawn Hébert was the first woman president of theGreater Iberia Chamber of Commerce.[10]
In 1975 he slipped on a piece of ice at a cocktail party and broke his arm.[11] In 1979 he began to suffercongestive heart failure, and he died on December 29 in New Orleans atHôtel-Dieu Hospital.[6] A requiem mass was said for him atSt. Louis Cathedral by ArchbishopPhilip Hannan. Hébert is entombed beside his wife in Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum in New Orleans.
Hébert is responsible for founding theUniformed Services University of the Health Sciences inBethesda, Maryland. That university's medical school, the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, is named for him.
On January 28, 2012, Hébert was posthumously inducted into theLouisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame inWinnfield.[12][13]
F. Edward Hébert Hall, Building 7 at Hébert's alma mater,Tulane University, houses Tulane's Center for Academic Equity, its Africana Studies Department and its History Department. In 2017 Tulane's Undergraduate Student Government resolved to request the board of administrators to allow Hébert Hall to be renamed. A student senator said, "What does it say about what side of history Tulane is on when its History Department is housed in a building named after a segregationist?" The students suggested "Guillory and Elloie Hall" for its new name, after Barbara Marie Guillory and Pearlie Hardin Elloie, the first two students of color to attend Tulane.[14] Tulane's Building Naming Task Force, which was made up of students, faculty, staff and alumni, recommended removing the Hébert name as the designation of the hall if legally possible and the Board of Tulane unanimously voted to authorize Tulane leadership to negotiate with the Hébert family as representatives of the F. Edward Hébert Foundation. However, according to University President Michael A. Fitts, "Tulane was unable to reach an agreement to modify the legal requirement that Hébert's name remain on the building." Beginning in the 2022-23 academic year, Hébert Hall will prominently feature contextual facts regarding the history of its naming.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Representative forLouisiana's 1st congressional district 1941 – 1977 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Philip J. Philbin Massachusetts | Chairman ofUnited States House Committee on Armed Services 1970–1975 | Succeeded by Charles Melvin Price Illinois |
Chairs of theUnited States House Committee on Armed Services | ||
|---|---|---|
| Military Affairs Committee (1822–1947) |  | |
| Naval Affairs Committee (1822–1947) | ||
| Armed Services Committee* (from 1947) | ||
*Alternately namedNational Security in 104th and 105th Congresses. | ||
| 1st district |   | |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd district | ||
| 3rd district | ||
| 4th district | ||
| 5th district | ||
| 6th district | ||
| 7th district | ||
| 8th district | ||
| At-large | ||
| Territory | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
