Robert Nix | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania | |
| In office May 20, 1958 – January 3, 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Earl Chudoff |
| Succeeded by | Bill Gray |
| Constituency | 4th district (1958–1963) 2nd district (1963–1979) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix (1898-08-09)August 9, 1898 |
| Died | June 22, 1987(1987-06-22) (aged 88) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (BA) University of Pennsylvania (LLB) |
Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix Sr. (August 9, 1898 – June 22, 1987) was an American politician who served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1958 until 1979. He was the firstAfrican American to representPennsylvania in the House of Representatives. TheRobert N. C. Nix Federal Building inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania is named in his honor.[1]
Born inOrangeburg, South Carolina, he attendedTownsend Harris High School inNew York City and graduated fromLincoln University (Pennsylvania) in 1921.[2] He received his law degree from theUniversity of Pennsylvania and began practicing inPhiladelphia.[1] After entering private practice, Nix became active in theDemocratic Party as a committeeman from the fourth ward in 1932. He became a special assistant deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania in 1934 and delegate to the1956 Democratic National Convention.
In1958, he defeated two opponents in aspecial election to fill a congressional vacancy left byEarl Chudoff in theHouse of Representatives.[3] An elected official who rarely wanted or attracted widespread publicity, he supported mostlyliberal legislation. He was reelected 10 times. He worked for the passage of the landmark legislation promoting theAmerican Civil Rights Movement and privately sought to prevent the House from denying Rep.Adam Clayton Powell his seat in 1967. In 1962, he became the first member of congress to knowingly meet with gay activists, when he invitedFrank Kameny to his office.[4] In 1975, he introduced an amendment to the Foreign Military Sales Act requiring theDefense Department to provide theU.S. Congress with information on identities of agents who negotiate arms sales for American firms.
Congressman Nix served on theVeterans' Affairs Committee, theForeign Affairs Committee and theCommittee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. He was the chairman of the Committee on the Post Office and Civil Service[5] and the chairman of the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy. Congressman Nix served 20 years before losing toWilliam H. Gray III in the primary in 1978.[6]
Congressman Nix's son,Robert N. C. Nix Jr., became the firstAfrican American to be elected to statewide office in Pennsylvania when he was elected to thePennsylvania Supreme Court.
In 1985, the United States court house and post office building in Philadelphia was renamed theRobert N. C. Nix Sr. Federal Building and United States Post Office in honor of Nix.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 4th congressional district 1958–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 2nd congressional district 1963–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Civil Service Committee 1977–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Post Office and Post Roads (1808–1947) |  | |
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| (Reform in the) Civil Service* (1893–1947) | ||
| Post Office and Civil Service (1947–1995) | ||
| Note | *Name shortened fromReform in the Civil Service toCivil Service in 1925. | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
