Henry Oscar Talle
From 1957'sPocket Congressional Directory of the Eighty-Fifth Congress.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa
In office January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1959
Preceded by	Fred Biermann
Succeeded by	Leonard G. Wolf
Constituency	4th District (1939-1943) 2nd District (1943-1959)
Personal details
Born	(1892-01-12)January 12, 1892 Albert Lea, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	March 14, 1969(1969-03-14) (aged 77) Washington D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery,Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Profession	Economics professor

Henry Oscar Talle (January 12, 1892 – March 14, 1969) was an economics professor and a ten-term RepublicanU.S. Representative from easternIowa. He served in theUnited States Congress for twenty years from 1939 until 1959.

Born on a farm nearAlbert Lea, Minnesota, Talle was educated in rural schools and Luther Academy in Albert Lea. He first arrived inLuther College inDecorah, Iowa, as a student, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1917. He interrupted his own academic career to serve in theU.S. Navy in theFirst World War, and to serve as a teacher (and superintendent of schools) inRugby andRolette, North Dakota in 1919 and 1920, and as a teacher in Luther Academy in 1920 and 1921. He pursued graduate work atUniversity of Minnesota,Boston University,Emerson College, and theUniversity of Chicago.^[1]

In 1921 he returned to Decorah and Luther College to serve as a professor of economics, a position that he held until he was elected to Congress in 1938. During that period he also served as the college's treasurer from 1932 to 1938.

During the first six years of theFranklin D. Roosevelt administration, Decorah and surrounding northwestern Iowa counties inIowa's 4th congressional district were represented by the former publisher ofThe Decorah Journal, DemocratFred Biermann. Talle tried and failed to unseat Congressman Biermann in 1936, butsucceeded two years later (in an election in which Republicans recaptured nearly all of the U.S. House seats in Iowa lost in the 1932 Democratic landslide). Talle won election by unseating an incumbent Democrat New Dealer from Talle's own hometown. Talle ran for re-election to his seat in the 4th district in 1940 and was re-elected.

The 1940 census caused Iowa to lose one of its nine seats in the U.S. House, forcing the 1941Iowa General Assembly to redraw congressional district boundaries. Although Republicans then controlled the Assembly and the Governor's office, Republican Talle was considered the "goat" burdened most severely by the reapportionment plan that the Assembly ultimately approved. The old 4th district was broken up, and Talle's home county and a few others from the old 4th district were placed in a reconfigured2nd congressional district. Compared to the old 4th district, the new 2nd district included more urban areas, includingCedar Rapids andClinton — the home of three-term incumbent DemocratWilliam Jacobsen and his late predecessor and father, three-term DemocratBernhard Jacobsen. However, in Talle's 1942 race against William Jacobsen, Talle was aided by the continued decline in support in Iowa for Democrats in Washington, andwon with a comfortable margin of over 15,000 votes. He would win re-election with at least 55 percent of the votein the next six elections, while advancing in seniority within the House Republican caucus.

After the 1956 elections (in which Talle prevailed over DemocratLeonard G. Wolf but received only 52.3 percent of the vote), he was the ranking Republican on theHouse Banking and Currency Committee.^[2] In the mid-term elections two years later, an increase in farm costs engendered hostility against Republican policies.^[2] This time, Wolf defeated Talle. In all, Talle served in Congress from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 1959. Talle voted in favor of theCivil Rights Act of 1957.^[3]

Following his defeat, Talle remained inWashington D.C., serving in theEisenhower administration as assistant administrator for program policy of the U.S. Housing and Home Finance Agency from February 2, 1959, to February 19, 1961. He resided inChevy Chase, Maryland, until his death in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 1969. He was interred inArlington National Cemetery.^[4]

• United States Congress."Henry O. Talle (id: T000028)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• Henry O. Talle Scholarship. Luther College
• Henry O. Talle Award. Luther College^{[permanent dead link]}

 This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.

• 1892 births
• 1969 deaths
• University of Minnesota alumni
• Politicians from Albert Lea, Minnesota
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