Joe R. Pool
Joseph Richard Pool (February 18, 1911 – July 14, 1968) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Texas.
Joe Richard Pool | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's at-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1967 | |
| Preceded by | District created |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 3rd district | |
| In office January 3, 1967 – July 14, 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Lindley Beckworth |
| Succeeded by | James M. Collins |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Richard Pool February 18, 1911 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | July 14, 1968 (aged 57) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Southern Methodist University |
History
Pool was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1911. He graduated from Oak Cliff High School (now W. H. Adamson High School) in the Dallas Independent School District and attended the University of Texas from 1929 to 1933. In 1937, he graduated from Southern Methodist University School of Law, was admitted to the Texas bar, and commenced the practice of law in Dallas, Texas.
He joined the United States Army Air Forces as a private in 1943. He became a criminal investigator in the Air Transport Command in the Intelligence section. He served until 1945 and received a honorary battlefield promotion to technical sergeant.[1] After the war, he resumed the practice of law.
He entered politics as a Democrat, and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1952. He was re-elected in 1954 and 1956, serving from 1953 to 1958. He was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Representative from the 5th District of Texas in 1958, losing in the primary to Barefoot Sanders. He ran again in 1960, winning the primary, but lost in the general election to Republican incumbent Bruce Alger.[2]
In the 1960 Congressional reapportionment, Texas received an additional U.S. House seat, but the districts were not redrawn and an at-large seat was created. Pool won the Democratic nomination for this seat and was elected to the Eighty-eighth Congress.[3] He was re-elected to the Eighty-ninth Congress in 1964.[4]
However, in Wesberry v. Sanders (1964), the Supreme Court banned at-large Congressional districts. Texas redrew its districts, and Pool opted to run for the 3rd District north of Dallas. He was re-elected from this district to the Ninetieth Congress in 1966.[5]
Pool served in Congress from January 3, 1963 until his death from a heart attack in Houston, Texas on July 14, 1968.
He was interred in Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas.
Memorials
- Joe Pool Lake in Dallas, Tarrant and Ellis Counties, is named for the Congressman.
- Joe Pool Post Office in Dallas.
- The Federal Aviation Administration has created a Standard instrument departure in the Dallas area named JPOOL in reference to the Congressman.
See also
References
- "Hearsay", The Brief of the School of Law, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, volume 4, number 1, Spring 1968, page 3.
- Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1966, Benjamin Guthrie, Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, page 43.
- Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1962, Benjamin Guthrie, Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, page 37.
- Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1964, Benjamin Guthrie, Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, page 43.
- Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1966, Benjamin Guthrie, Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, page 41.
Sources
- United States Congress. "Joe R. Pool (id: P000426)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.