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Kenneth Roberts | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama | |
| In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1965 | |
| Preceded by | Sam Hobbs |
| Succeeded by | Glenn Andrews (redistricting) |
| Constituency | 4th district (1951-1963) At-large (1963-1965) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kenneth Allison Roberts (1912-11-01)November 1, 1912 Piedmont, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 1989(1989-05-09) (aged 76) Potomac, Maryland, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Samford University (BA) University of Alabama (LLB) |
Kenneth Allison Roberts (November 1, 1912 – May 9, 1989) was an American lawyer,World War II veteran and politician who served seven terms as aU.S. representative fromAlabama from 1951 to 1965.
Born inPiedmont, Alabama, Roberts attended the public schools andHoward College,Birmingham, Alabama. He was graduated from theUniversity of Alabama Law School in 1935 andadmitted to the bar in 1936. He practiced law inAnniston, Alabama (1936) and inTalladega (1937–1942).
Roberts was elected to theAlabama State Senate in 1942 and resigned the same year to enter theUnited States Navy. He served in both Atlantic and Pacific Theaters until discharged as a lieutenant in 1945.
He was president of Piedmont Development Co. from 1945 to 1950. From 1948 to 1950 he served as member of Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs and city attorney ofPiedmont, Alabama.
Roberts was elected as aDemocrat to theEighty-second and to the six succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1965). He was wounded in the1954 United States Capitol shooting. Having been a signatory to the 1956Southern Manifesto that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court inBrown v. Board of Education, he voted against H.R. 6127, Civil Rights Act of 1957.[1] He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1964 to theEighty-ninth Congress.
Roberts led the establishment of federal safety legislation through the House of Representatives subcommittee on traffic safety which was formed in 1956.[2]
In 1963 he introduced theU.S. Clean Air Act.[citation needed]
He resumed the practice of law until his retirement in 1979. From 1965 to 1972 he was Counsel for the Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission. He served as member of the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee from 1966 to 1970.[citation needed]
He was a resident ofAnniston, Alabama until his death due to congestive heart failure inPotomac, Maryland, on May 9, 1989. He was interred atArlington National Cemetery.
Media related toKenneth A. Roberts at Wikimedia Commons| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's 4th congressional district 1951–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Constituency reestablished | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's at-large congressional district 1963–1965 | Constituency abolished |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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