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Ranulf Compton | |
|---|---|
_(cropped)_(cropped).jpg) Captain Compton as an instructor at the Tank Corps School of theAmerican Expeditionary Forces nearLangres, France, July 1918. | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's3rd district | |
| In office 1943–1945 | |
| Preceded by | James A. Shanley |
| Succeeded by | James P. Geelan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1878-09-16)September 16, 1878 Poe, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 26, 1974(1974-01-26) (aged 95) Madison, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Howe Military School Harvard University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Rank | Captain Major |
| Unit | New York National Guard American Expeditionary Forces |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Ranulf Compton (September 16, 1878,Poe, Indiana – January 26, 1974) was aUnited States representative fromConnecticut. He also served as commander of the 327th (345th) Tank Battalion inGeorge S. Patton's 304th (1st Provisional) Tank Brigade on the Western Front in 1918 France.[1]
Compton attended the public schools atIndianapolis, Indiana and was graduated from theHowe Military School,Howe, Indiana in 1899. After graduation, he attendedHarvard University. He engaged inbanking andfinance inNew York and Connecticut.[2]
Before and duringWorld War I, he served ascaptain of infantry,New York National Guard, 1912–1916. He was captain of infantry,United States Army, July 1916 – March 1918, and captain andmajor in theTank Corps, American Expeditionary Forces, April 1918 – August 1919. (He went overseas with theAmerican Expeditionary Forces on December 12, 1917, and was decorated with thePurple Heart and theFrench Legion of Honor.)
Compton commanded one of the tank battalions in George S. Patton's tank brigade (Sereno E. Brett commanding the other American tank battalion under Patton). When Patton was wounded the first day of theMeuse–Argonne offensive in late September 1918, Brett assumed command of Patton's brigade and Compton assumed command of "all the tanks at the front," and with some of the toughest fighting of the tank brigade still ahead.[3] Compton retired from the United States Army on August 8, 1919, with rank of Major and then served as the military secretary toGovernorNathan L. Miller of New York in 1920.
Compton was the deputy secretary of state of New York in 1921 and 1922. He was the executive secretary and treasurer of the Hudson River Regulating District,Albany, New York 1923-1929 and served as aide-de-camp to Gov.Raymond E. Baldwin of Connecticut in 1940 and 1941.
He was elected as a Republican to theSeventy-eighth Congress (January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1945) but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1944 to theSeventy-ninth Congress. After Congress, he was the president and owner ofSouth Jersey Broadcasting Company from 1945 until his retirement in 1968. He resided inMadison, Connecticut until his death there in 1974 and was buried in West Cemetery.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromConnecticut's 3rd congressional district 1943-1945 | Succeeded by |
