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The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace

Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace: District of Columbia

in chronological order

  Samuel Swartwout (1783-1856) — of New York, New York County, N.Y. Born in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, N.Y., November 17, 1783. He was participant in Aaron Burr's "Western Conspiracy"; delivered a message from Burr to Gen. James Wilkinson in New Orleans; subsequently arrested in November 1806 for misprision of treason, but released a few months later; early promoter of railroads; openly supported the Texas Republic in its war for independence from Mexico; served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812; U.S. Collector of Customs, 1829-38; in 1838, it was alleged that he had embezzled more than $1.2 million from the New York customs house, and fled to England; later investigation implicated a subordinate of his as having obtained most of that money; forfeited his property and returned to the U.S. in 1841. Died in New York, New York County, N.Y., November 21, 1856 (age 73 years, 4 days). Interment at Trinity Churchyard, Manhattan, N.Y.
  Relatives: Son of Abraham Swartwout and Maria (North) Swartwout; married 1814 to Alice Ann Cooper.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  John Armstrong Jr. (1758-1843) — also known as "Old Soldier"; "Monsieur Tombo" — of Pennsylvania; Dutchess County, N.Y. Born in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pa., November 25, 1758. Republican. Major in Continental Army during the Revolutionary War; secretary of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1783-87; Delegate to Continental Congress from Pennsylvania, 1787-88; U.S. Senator from New York, 1800-02, 1803-04; U.S. Minister to France, 1804-10; general in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812; U.S. Secretary of War, 1813-14; blamed for the British capture of Washington, D.C. in August 1814, and forced to resign; member of New York state assembly from Dutchess County, 1825. Catholic. Slaveowner. Died in Red Hook, Dutchess County, N.Y., April 1, 1843 (age 84 years, 127 days). Entombed at Rhinebeck Cemetery, Rhinebeck, N.Y.
  Relatives: Son of John Armstrong and Rebecca (Lyon) Armstrong; brother of James Armstrong; married, January 18, 1789, to Alida Livingston (daughter of Robert R. Livingston (1718-1775); sister-in-law of Morgan Lewis; sister of Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813) and Edward Livingston; granddaughter of Robert Livingston); grandfather of John Jacob Astor III; great-grandfather of William Waldorf Astor; second great-grandfather of William Astor Chanler and Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler.
  Political family: Livingston-Schuyler family of New York (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  The World War II Liberty ship SS John Armstrong (built 1942-43 at Houston, Texas; scrapped 1964) was named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — U.S. State Dept career summary — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Richard Cutts (1771-1845) — of Pepperell, Middlesex County, Mass. Born in Saco, York County, Maine, June 28, 1771. Democrat. Member of Massachusetts state legislature, 1790; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1801-13 (at-large 1801-05, 14th District 1805-13); imprisoned for debt, 1828. Died in Washington, D.C., April 7, 1845 (age 73 years, 283 days). Original interment at St. John's Church Cemetery, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.; reinterment in 1857 at Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
  Relatives: Married, March 31, 1804, to Anna Payne (sister-in-law of James Madison and John George Jackson).
  Political families: Jackson-Lee family; Kellogg-Adams-Seymour-Chapin family of Connecticut and New York; Pendleton-Lee family of Maryland (subsets of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  James Blair (1786-1834) — of South Carolina. Born in The Waxhaws, Lancaster County, S.C., September 26, 1786. Democrat. Planter; sheriff; U.S. Representative from South Carolina, 1821-22, 1829-34 (9th District 1821-22, 8th District 1829-34); resigned 1822; died in office 1834; in 1832, he assaulted newspaper editor Duff Green, breaking some bones, and fined $350. Scotch-Irish ancestry. Died from a self-inflicted gunshot, in Washington, D.C., April 1, 1834 (age 47 years, 187 days). Interment at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Philemon Thomas Herbert (1825-1864) — also known as Philemon T. Herbert — of Mariposa, Mariposa County, Calif.; El Paso, El Paso County, Tex. Born in Pine Apple, Wilcox County, Ala., November 1, 1825. Democrat. Lawyer; member of California state assembly, 1853-55 (10th District 1853-54, 6th District 1854-55); U.S. Representative from California at-large, 1855-57; in 1856, drunk at breakfast, he shot and killed Thomas Keating, a waiter at the Willard Hotel in Washington; charged with murder, twice tried, and eventually acquitted; colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Wounded at the Battle of Mansfield, April 8, 1864, and died in Kingston, DeSoto Parish, La., July 23, 1864 (age 38 years, 265 days). Interment at Evergreen Cemetery, Kingston, La.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article
  Laurence Massillon Keitt (1824-1864) — also known as L. M. Keitt — of Orangeburg, Orangeburg District (now Orangeburg County), S.C. Born in Orangeburg District (part now in Calhoun County), S.C., October 4, 1824. Democrat. Planter; lawyer; member of South Carolina state house of representatives, 1848; U.S. Representative from South Carolina 3rd District, 1853-55, 1855-56, 1856-60; censured by the House in 1856 for aiding Rep. Preston S. Brooks in his caning attack on Sen. Charles Sumner; resigned; re-elected to his seat within a month; in 1858, he attacked and attempted to choke Rep. Galusha Grow during an argument on the House floor, starting a brawl; delegate to South Carolina secession convention from Orange, 1860-62; Delegate from South Carolina to the Confederate Provisional Congress, 1861-62; colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Slaveowner. Mortally wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor, and died the next day, near Richmond (unknown county), Va., June 4, 1864 (age 39 years, 244 days). Interment at West End Cemetery, St. Matthews, S.C.
  Relatives: Son of George Keitt and Mary Magdaleine (Wannamaker) Keitt; nephew of John Jacob Wannamaker; first cousin once removed of William Whetstone Wannamaker Jr.; first cousin twice removed of William Whetstone Wannamaker III.
  Political family: Wannamaker family of Orangeburg, South Carolina.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
Daniel E. Sickles Daniel Edgar Sickles (1819-1914) — also known as Daniel E. Sickles; "Devil Dan" — of New York, New York County, N.Y. Born in New York, New York County, N.Y., October 20, 1819. Lawyer; member of New York state assembly from New York County, 1847; member of New York state senate 3rd District, 1856-57; U.S. Representative from New York, 1857-61, 1893-95 (3rd District 1857-61, 10th District 1893-95); defeated (Democratic), 1894; general in the Union Army during the Civil War; delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1868; U.S. Minister to Spain, 1869-74; delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1892. Member, Grand Army of the Republic. Shot and killed Philip Barton Key, his wife's lover and the son of the author of the national anthem, at Lafayette Park, Washington, D.C, 1859; charged with murder, but with the help of his attorney Edwin M. Stanton, was acquitted after the first successful plea of temporary insanity in U.S. legal history. Received the Medal of Honor in 1897 for action at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; lost a leg in that battle; his amputated leg was displayed at the Army Medical Museum, where he frequently visited it in later years. Died in New York, New York County, N.Y., May 3, 1914 (age 94 years, 195 days). Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — U.S. State Dept career summary
  Books about Daniel E. Sickles: Thomas M. Keneally, American Scoundrel : The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles
  Image source: Official NY: from Cleveland to Hughes (1911)
  Philip Barton Key (1818-1859) — of Washington, D.C. Born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., April 5, 1818. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, 1853-59; died in office 1859. Shot and killed by Daniel E. Sickles, in retaliation for Key's affair with his wife Teresa, at Lafayette Park, Washington, D.C., February 27, 1859 (age 40 years, 328 days). Interment at Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.; cenotaph at Westminster Burying Ground, Baltimore, Md.
  Relatives: Son of Francis Scott Key and Mary Tayloe (Lloyd) Key; brother of Mary Alicia 'Alice' Key (who married George Hunt Pendleton); married, November 18, 1845, to Ellen Swan; nephew of Edward Lloyd (1779-1834) and Anne Phoebe Charlton Key (who married Roger Brooke Taney); uncle of Francis Key Pendleton; grandson of Edward Lloyd (1744-1796); grandnephew of Philip Barton Key (1757-1815); first cousin once removed of Henry Lloyd; first cousin twice removed of Philip Key; first cousin thrice removed of Matthew Tilghman; second cousin twice removed of Charles Carroll, Barrister, James Joseph Tilghman, William Tilghman and William Welby Beverley; third cousin once removed of Frisby Tilghman; fourth cousin of Tench Tilghman and Edward Tilghman Paca; fourth cousin once removed of Vinson Martlow Whitley.
  Political families: Pendleton-Lee family of Maryland; Lee-Randolph family; Harrison-Randolph-Marshall-Cabell family of Virginia; Blackburn-Slaughter-Buckner-Madison family of Kentucky (subsets of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Lovell Harrison Rousseau (1818-1869) — also known as Lovell H. Rousseau — of Bloomfield, Greene County, Ind.; Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky. Born near Stanford, Lincoln County, Ky., August 4, 1818. Republican. Lawyer; member of Indiana state house of representatives, 1844-45; served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War; member of Indiana state senate, 1847-49; member of Kentucky state senate, 1860-61; general in the Union Army during the Civil War; U.S. Representative from Kentucky 5th District, 1865-66, 1866-67; resigned 1866; on June 14, 1866, he assaulted Iowa Rep. Josiah B. Grinnell with the iron handle of his cane; reprimanded by the House of Representatives, and resigned, but was elected to fill his own vacancy. Slaveowner. Died in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La., January 7, 1869 (age 50 years, 156 days). Original interment and cenotaph at Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Ky.; reinterment in 1892 at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
  Relatives: Son of David Rousseau; married 1843 to Marie Antoinette Dozier.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  William Adams Richardson (1821-1896) — of Massachusetts. Born in Tyngsborough, Middlesex County, Mass., November 2, 1821. Republican. Probate judge in Massachusetts, 1856; U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 1873-74; while Secretary of the Treasury, he hired John D. Sanborn to collect unpaid taxes and receive a commission, some of which went as a kickback to Richardson himself; this arrangement caused an uproar, and Richardson resigned under fire; Judge of U.S. Court of Claims, 1874-96. Unitarian. Died in Washington, D.C., October 19, 1896 (age 74 years, 352 days). Interment at Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Arthur Brown (1843-1906) — of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Mich.; Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah. Born in Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo County, Mich., March 8, 1843. Republican. Lawyer; U.S. Senator from Utah, 1896-97; delegate to Republican National Convention from Utah, 1896 (member, Committee on Permanent Organization; speaker); his relationship with Mrs. Anna Bradley gave rise to scandal; in 1902, the two were arrested and charged with adultery; she pleaded guilty, but he pleaded not guilty, was tried, and acquitted by a jury; he fathered two children with her, but refused to marry her. Shot and killed, in his room at the Raleigh Hotel, by his former mistress Anna Bradley, in Washington, D.C., December 12, 1906 (age 63 years, 279 days). Interment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Utah.
  Relatives: Son of Asa Briggs Brown and Lephia Olympia (Brown) Brown; married to Isabel Cameron; nephew of Ebenezer Lakin Brown; first cousin of Addison Makepeace Brown; first cousin twice removed of Calvin Coolidge and Garry Eldridge Brown; second cousin twice removed of Bradford R. Lansing.
  Political family: Lansing family of New York (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Donald Wakefield Smith — also known as Donald W. Smith — of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pa.; Washington, D.C. Democrat. Member, National Labor Relations Board, 1936-39; indicted in federal court in 1943, with James M. Curley and others, over his participation in Engineers Group, Inc., which fraudulently obtained war contracts; re-indicted in 1944; tried in 1945-46 and convicted; sentenced to four months to one year and one day in prison and fined $1,000. Burial location unknown.
  Daniel W. West (b. 1909) — of Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn.; Detroit, Wayne County, Mich. Born in Algood, Putnam County, Tenn., September 5, 1909. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1960, 1964 (alternate); member of Michigan state house of representatives, 1963-65 (Wayne County 6th District 1963-64, 24th District 1965); defeated in primary, 1954 (Wayne County 6th District), 1956 (Wayne County 6th District), 1958 (Wayne County 6th District), 1960 (Wayne County 6th District), 1965 (24th District). Convicted of various crimes, including burglary, larceny, and forgery, in Minnesota, Iowa, and Washington, D.C., and was sentenced to prison in those places; came to Michigan and assumed the identity of a deceased New York attorney of the same name; indicted in late 1964 on state charges of voter registration fraud and federal charges of income tax fraud and forgery; in January 1965, his seat in the Michigan House was declared vacant. Burial location unknown.
  Ernest King Bramblett (1901-1966) — also known as Ernest K. Bramblett — of Pacific Grove, Monterey County, Calif. Born in Fresno, Fresno County, Calif., April 25, 1901. Republican. Insurance business; mayor of Pacific Grove, Calif., 1938-46; U.S. Representative from California, 1947-55 (11th District 1947-53, 13th District 1953-55). Protestant. Member, Phi Delta Kappa; Elks; Moose; Rotary; Freemasons; Scottish Rite Masons; Knights Templar; Shriners. Investigated by a federal grand jury in Washington over payroll padding in his office; he had hired his wife, received kickbacks from employees who did no work, and made false statements to the House disbursing officer; indicted on 18 counts in June 1953; pleaded not guilty; tried in February 1954; convicted on seven counts; his conviction was stayed pending appeal, but ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court; fined $5,000, placed on one-year probation, and separately required to pay restitution. Died December 27, 1966 (age 65 years, 246 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of James Mitchell Bramblett and Bettie Frances (King) Bramblett; married, May 5, 1924, to Lois Candace Bowker.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  John Newton Mitchell (1913-1988) — also known as John N. Mitchell — of New York; Washington, D.C. Born in Detroit, Wayne County, Mich., September 15, 1913. Lawyer; served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; U.S. Attorney General, 1969-72. Member, American Bar Association. A central figure in the Watergate scandal. Indicted in 1973, along with Maurice Stans, for perjury and obstruction over a contribution from fugitive financier Robert Vesco to President Richard M. Nixon's re-election campaign; tried and acquitted. Convicted in February 1975 of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury, over his role in the Watergate break-in, and sentenced to two and a half to eight years in prison; served 19 months. Suffered a heart attack, and died later the same day, at George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D.C., November 9, 1988 (age 75 years, 55 days). Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
  Relatives: Son of Joseph Charles Mitchell and Margaret Agnes (McMahon) Mitchell; married to Martha Beall.
  Cross-reference: Maurice H. Stans — Harry L. Sears
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  Books about John Mitchell: James Rosen, The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate
  Joe David Waggonner Jr. (1918-2007) — also known as Joe Waggonner, Jr. — of Plain Dealing, Bossier Parish, La. Born near Plain Dealing, Bossier Parish, La., September 7, 1918. Democrat. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict; wholesale petroleum products distribution business; member, Louisiana state board of education, 1960-61; U.S. Representative from Louisiana 4th District, 1961-79. Methodist. Member, American Legion; Forty and Eight; Freemasons; Shriners; Elks; Lions; Kappa Sigma. Arrested in Washington, D.C., 1976, for soliciting a policewoman posing as a prostitute. Died in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, La., October 7, 2007 (age 89 years, 30 days). Interment at Plain Dealing Cemetery, Plain Dealing, La.
  Relatives: Son of Joe David Waggonner and Elizzibeth (Johnston) Waggonner; married, December 14, 1942, to Mary Ruth Carter.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  Frederick William Richmond (b. 1923) — also known as Frederick W. Richmond; Fred Richmond — of Manhattan, New York County, N.Y.; Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y. Born in Massachusetts, November 15, 1923. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1964; U.S. Representative from New York 14th District, 1975-82. Jewish. Arrested in Washington, D.C., in 1978 for soliciting sex from a minor and from an undercover police officer; pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. In 1982, charged with tax evasion, marijuana possession, and improper payments to a federal employee, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year and a day in prison; served nine months. Presumed deceased. Burial location unknown.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  John Logan Cashin Jr. (1928-2011) — also known as John L. Cashin, Jr. — of Huntsville, Madison County, Ala.; Washington, D.C. Born in Huntsville, Madison County, Ala., April 16, 1928. Democrat. Dentist; candidate for mayor of Huntsville, Ala., 1964; National Democratic candidate for Governor of Alabama, 1970. African ancestry. Convicted of theft and perjury in 1982; served 17 months in federal prison. Died, of renal failure and pneumonia, in Specialty Hospital of Washington-Hadley, Washington, D.C., March 21, 2011 (age 82 years, 339 days). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Married 1958 to John Carpenter; married 1998 to Louise White; grandson of Herschel Cashin.
  See also Wikipedia article
  Ronald Vernie Dellums (1935-2018) — also known as Ronald V. Dellums — of Berkeley, Alameda County, Calif.; Oakland, Alameda County, Calif. Born in Oakland, Alameda County, Calif., November 24, 1935. Democrat. Social worker; U.S. Representative from California, 1971-98 (7th District 1971-75, 8th District 1975-93, 9th District 1993-98); arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1988, 1996, 2008; mayor of Oakland, Calif., 2007-11. Protestant. African ancestry. Member, Alpha Phi Alpha. Died in Washington, D.C., July 30, 2018 (age 82 years, 248 days). Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
  Relatives: Married to Leola Roscoe Higgs.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  John James Conyers Jr. (1929-2019) — also known as John Conyers, Jr. — of Detroit, Wayne County, Mich. Born in Highland Park, Wayne County, Mich., May 16, 1929. Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict; lawyer; U.S. Representative from Michigan, 1965-2017 (1st District 1965-93, 14th District 1993-2013, 13th District 2013-17); resigned 2017; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008; arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984; candidate for mayor of Detroit, Mich., 1989; in 2017, it was reported that a former member of Conyers' staff had alleged that he had sexually harassed her, and had been paid a settlement of $27,000; subsequently, the House Ethics Committee started an investigation into multiple such allegations; he subsequently resigned from Congress. Baptist. African ancestry. Member, NAACP. Recipient of the Spingarn Medal, 2007. Died in Detroit, Wayne County, Mich., October 27, 2019 (age 90 years, 164 days). Entombed at Detroit Memorial Park East, Warren, Mich.
  Relatives: Son of John James Conyers and Lucille Jane (Simpson) Conyers; brother of Nathan G. Conyers; married 1990 to Monica Esters.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  William Donlon Edwards (1915-2015) — also known as Don Edwards — of San Jose, Santa Clara County, Calif. Born in San Jose, Santa Clara County, Calif., January 6, 1915. Democrat. Lawyer; served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; U.S. Representative from California, 1963-95 (9th District 1963-75, 10th District 1975-93, 16th District 1993-95); delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1964, 1968, 1988; arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984. Unitarian. Member, Americans for Democratic Action. Died in San Jose, Santa Clara County, Calif., October 1, 2015 (age 100 years, 268 days). Burial location unknown.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  Charles Arthur Hayes (1918-1997) — also known as Charles A. Hayes — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Cairo, Alexander County, Ill., February 17, 1918. Democrat. U.S. Representative from Illinois 1st District, 1983-93; defeated in primary, 1992; arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984. African ancestry. Member, United Food and Commercial Workers. Died, from complications of lung cancer, at South Suburban Hospital, Hazel Crest, Cook County, Ill., April 8, 1997 (age 79 years, 50 days). Burial location unknown.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier
  Walter Edward Fauntroy (b. 1933) — also known as Walter E. Fauntroy — of Washington, D.C. Born in Washington, D.C., February 6, 1933. Democrat. Baptist minister; Delegate to U.S. Congress from the District of Columbia, 1971-91; candidate for Democratic nomination for President, 1972; delegate to Democratic National Convention from District of Columbia, 1972, 1980, 1988 (speaker); arrested during an anti-apartheid sit-in at the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984; candidate for mayor of Washington, D.C., 1990. Baptist. African ancestry. Member, Kappa Alpha Psi. Charged in federal court on March 22, 1995 with making false statements on financial disclosure forms, including a claimed donation of almost $24,000 to the New Bethel Baptist Church where he served as pastor, to make it appear that he had complied with House rules limiting outside income, and that he had failed to disclose a June 1988 loan of $24,200. Pleaded guilty to one felony count, and sentenced to probation. Still living as of 2014.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile — OurCampaigns candidate detail
  George William Crockett Jr. (1909-1997) — also known as George W. Crockett, Jr. — of Detroit, Wayne County, Mich. Born in Jacksonville, Duval County, Fla., August 10, 1909. Democrat. Recorder's court judge in Michigan, 1966-78; U.S. Representative from Michigan 13th District, 1980-91; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1984, 1988; arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984. Baptist. African ancestry. Member, Kappa Alpha Psi; National Lawyers Guild. Served four months in federal prison for contempt of court in 1950, following his defense of a Communist leader on trial in New York for advocating the overthrow of the government. Among the founders of the nation's first interracial law firm. Ill with bone cancer in 1997, he suffered a stroke and died five days later, in Washington Home and Hospice, Washington, D.C., September 7, 1997 (age 88 years, 28 days). Cremated.
  Relatives: Father of George W. Crockett III.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article
  Joseph Echols Lowery (b. 1921) — also known as Joseph E. Lowery — of Atlanta, Fulton County, Ga. Born in Huntsville, Madison County, Ala., October 6, 1921. Democrat. Pastor; leader in the civil rights movement; co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; escaped death in 1963 when his hotel room in Birmingham, Ala., was bombed, and in 1979 when Klansmen in Decatur, Ala., opened fire on Lowery and other protesters; arrested while demonstrating in support of a garbage workers' strike in Atlanta, 1968; arrested during protests in Cullman, Ala., 1978; arrested while protesting apartheid at the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C., 1984; offered prayer, Democratic National Convention, 1988 ; delivered eulogies at the funerals of Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Georgia, 2008. Methodist. African ancestry. Still living as of 2014.
  Relatives: Married 1950 to Evelyn Gibson.
  Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard, in Atlanta, Georgia, is named for him.
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  William H. Simons — also known as Bill Simons — of Washington, D.C. Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during World War II; school teacher; delegate to Democratic National Convention from District of Columbia, 1968, 1980, 1996, 2000; president, Washington Teachers Union; vice-president, American Federation of Teachers; arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984; candidate for Presidential Elector for District of Columbia. African ancestry. Still living as of 2000.
  Mary Frances Berry (b. 1938) — Born in Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn., February 17, 1938. Lawyer; writer; university professor; member, U.S. Civil Rights Commission, 1978-2004; chair, U.S. Civil Rights Commission, 1993-99; arrested during an anti-apartheid sit-in at the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984. Female. African ancestry. Still living as of 2014.
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile
  Carl Thomas Rowan (1925-2000) — also known as Carl T. Rowan — of Washington, D.C. Born in Ravenscroft, White County, Tenn., August 11, 1925. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; syndicated newspaper columnist, author, biographer, television and radio commentator; U.S. Ambassador to Finland, 1963-64; in 1988, he shot and wounded an intruder in his backyard in Washington, D.C.; he was arrested, charged with a weapons violation, and tried; the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and a mistrial was declared; received the Spingarn Medal in 1997. African ancestry. Member, Americans for Democratic Action. Died, of heart and kidney ailments and diabetes, at the Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C., September 23, 2000 (age 75 years, 43 days). Burial location unknown.
  See also Wikipedia article — U.S. State Dept career summary — NNDB dossier
  Marion S. Barry Jr. (1936-2014) — also known as Marion Barry — of Washington, D.C. Born in Itta Bena, Leflore County, Miss., March 6, 1936. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from District of Columbia, 1972 (alternate), 1980, 1988 (speaker), 1996; mayor of Washington, D.C., 1979-91, 1995-99; convicted in 1990 of misdemeanor cocaine possession after being caught on videotape smoking crack cocaine; sentenced to six months in prison. African ancestry. Member, Alpha Phi Alpha. Died in Washington, D.C., November 23, 2014 (age 78 years, 262 days). Interment at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier
  Critical books about Marion Barry: Jonetta Rose Barras, The Last of the Black Emperors : The Hollow Comeback of Marion Barry in a New Age of Black Leaders
  Barbara A. Bullock (born c.1939) — also known as Barbara Bullock — of Washington, D.C. Born about 1939. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from District of Columbia, 1996, 2000. Female. President of the Washington Teachers Union, 1994-2002; pleaded guilty in 2003 to federal charges of embezzlement from a labor union, over her use of a union credit card to purchase costly costly luxury items including jewelry, furs and clothing; she and two co-conspirators also wrote union checks to themselves and to intermediaries who shared the proceeds, amounting to millions of dollars. Her chauffeur pleaded guilty to money laundering on her behalf. Sentenced to nine years in prison; the sentence was later reduced to six and a half years. Still living as of 2007.
  See also Wikipedia article
  Thomas Peter Lantos (1928-2008) — also known as Tom Lantos; Tamas Peter Lantos — of Millbrae, San Mateo County, Calif.; Hillsborough, San Mateo County, Calif.; San Mateo, San Mateo County, Calif. Born in Budapest, Hungary, February 1, 1928. Democrat. University professor; television news commentator; delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1976, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004; U.S. Representative from California, 1981-2008 (11th District 1981-93, 12th District 1993-2008); died in office 2008. Jewish. Member, Phi Beta Kappa; Sigma Alpha Mu. Arrested for disorderly conduct in April 2006, while taking part civil disobedience action to protest genocide in Darfur, in front of the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C. Died, of cancer of the esophagus, in Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Montgomery County, Md., February 11, 2008 (age 80 years, 10 days). Interment at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
  Relatives: Married 1950 to Annette Tillemann; father of Katrina Lantos (who married Richard Nelson Swett).
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Gordon James Klingenschmitt (b. 1968) — also known as Gordon Klingenschmitt — Born in Buffalo, Erie County, N.Y., June 5, 1968. Republican. Chaplain; wore his Navy uniform at a 2006 political protest, with Roy Moore, in front of the White House; subsequently court-martialed for disobeying a lawful order; he had been prohibited from appearing at political events in uniform; ultimately discharged from the Navy; member of Colorado state house of representatives, 2015-16; candidate for Colorado state senate, 2016. Evangelical Christian. Still living as of 2016.
  See also Wikipedia article — Encyclopedia of American Loons
"Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard."
Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872
The Political Graveyard

The Political Graveyard is a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries. Founded in 1996, it is the Internet's most comprehensive free source for American political biography, listing 320,919 politicians, living and dead.
 
  The coverage of this site includes (1) the President, Vice President, members of Congress, elected state and territorial officeholders in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories; and the chief elected official, typically the mayor, of qualifying municipalities; (2) candidates at election, including primaries, for any of the above; (3) all federal judges and all state appellate judges; (4) certain federal officials, including the federal cabinet, diplomatic chiefs of mission, consuls, U.S. district attorneys, collectors of customs and internal revenue, members of major federal commissions; and political appointee (pre-1969) postmasters of qualifying communities; (5) state and national political party officials, including delegates, alternate delegates, and other participants in national party nominating conventions; (6) Americans who served as "honorary" consuls for other nations before 1950. Note: municipalities or communities "qualify", for Political Graveyard purposes, if they have at least half a million person-years of history, inclusive of predecessor, successor, and merged entities.  
  The listings are incomplete; development of the database is a continually ongoing project.  
  Information on this page — and on all other pages of this site — is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. Users are advised to check with other sources before relying on any information here.  
  The official URL for this page is: https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/DC/trouble.html.  
  Links to this or any other Political Graveyard page are welcome, but specific page addresses may sometimes change as the site develops.  
  If you are searching for a specific named individual, try the alphabetical index of politicians.  
Copyright notices: (1) Facts are not subject to copyright; see Feist v. Rural Telephone. (2) Politician portraits displayed on this site are 70-pixel-wide monochrome thumbnail images, which I believe to constitute fair use under applicable copyright law. Where possible, each image is linked to its online source. However, requests from owners of copyrighted images to delete them from this site are honored. (3) Original material, programming, selection and arrangement are © 1996-2023 Lawrence Kestenbaum. (4) This work is also licensed for free non-commercial re-use, with attribution, under a Creative Commons License.
Site information: The Political Graveyard is created and maintained by Lawrence Kestenbaum, who is solely responsible for its structure and content. — The mailing address is The Political Graveyard, P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106. — This site is hosted by HDL. — The Political Graveyard opened on July 1, 1996; the last full revision was done on March 8, 2023.

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