A. Leonard Allen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromLouisiana's8th district | |
| In office January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Cleveland Dear |
| Succeeded by | George S. Long |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Asa Leonard Allen (1891-01-05)January 5, 1891 Winnfield, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 5, 1969(1969-01-05) (aged 78) Winnfield, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lottie Mae Thompson |
| Children | Harwell L. Allen Lyndon Blaine Allen |
| Alma mater | Louisiana State University |
Asa Leonard Allen (January 5, 1891 – January 5, 1969) was an educator, attorney, and member of theUnited States House of Representatives from the state ofLouisiana. He served eight terms as aDemocrat from 1937 to 1953, having represented the now defunct8th congressional district, centered aboutAlexandria.
Allen was born in a log cabin nearWinnfield, the seat ofWinn Parish, to Asa L. Allen and the former Sophronia Perkins. He was a younger brother of GovernorOscar Kelly Allen.
He was educated in the Winn Parishpublic schools and received abachelor's degree fromLouisiana State University inBaton Rouge in 1914.
The next year, he married the former Lottie Mae Thompson, and they had two sons, Harwell L. Allen, who became a district judge, and Lyndon Blaine Allen.
Allen taught in the rural schools of neighboringGrant Parish from 1914 to 1917. He was a principal in schools inGeorgetown and Verda nearMontgomery. Thereafter, he became the superintendent of the Winn Parish system, 1917–1922. He studied law on his own, was admitted to the bar in 1922, and practiced in Winnfield, where he was city attorney for a time.
Allen was a prominentBaptist, who served a stint as vice-president of theLouisiana Baptist Convention. He was aScottish RiteMason and aShriner. He died in Winnfield on his 78th birthday and is interred at Winnfield Cemetery.
While he first ran for Congress, Allen was also a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1936, which renominated theFranklin D. Roosevelt andJohn Nance Garner ticket, an overwhelming winner in Louisiana and nationwide as well. In Congress, Allen served as chairman of the Committee on the Census. A loyal member of the Long organization, he did not seek a ninth term in Congress in 1952. Instead, he deferred toGeorge Shannon "Doc" Long, the older brother of the legendaryHuey Pierce Long Jr., andEarl Kemp Long, who desired to run for Allen's 8th district seat.
In 1943, Allen was among the US representatives who opposed the repeal of theChinese Exclusion Act.[1] He also introduced theRenunciation Act of 1944 in the House.
Allen died on his 78th birthday in his nativeWinnfield, Louisiana.[citation needed]
In 1994, Allen wasposthumously inducted into theLouisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield. His brother had been an original inductee a year earlier.[citation needed]
The municipal building in Winnfield is named in his honor.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Representative for the 8th Congressional District of Louisiana 1937–1953 | Succeeded by |
