Albert Thomas. (original) (raw)
One of the most famous photos ever made shows Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath as president aboard Air Force One shortly after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the photo, a tall, trim man wearing a bow tie bends in to get a better view of President Johnson and Justice Sarah Hughes, who administered the oath. That man was Albert Thomas, who represented the Eighth Congressional District � essentially, Harris County and Houston � in Congress for fifteen terms.
Thomas was born in Nacogdocheson April 12, 1898. He attended local schools, worked in his father�s store, and served as a lieutenant in the Army during WWIbefore graduating from the Rice Institute and the University of Texas Law School. He practiced law and served as Nacogdoches County attorney before moving to Houstonin 1930 to become assistant US district attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
Thomas won the race to represent the Eighth District in the US House of Representatives in 1936 and held that post until his death thirty years later. He rose to committee chair status, including chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. Likely Representative Thomas� best remembered service was in helping make the decision to locate the headquarters for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, later known as the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, in the Houstonarea. When President Kennedy made the announcement, he deliberately credited Thomas with "delivering the greatest payroll...I mean payload" possible to his district.
Thomas was with Kennedy and Johnson in Dallason November 22, 1963, because the evening before they had attended his sixty-fifth birthday party in Houston and urged him to remain in Congress. Earlier, Thomas had said that he might not seek reelection in 1964 because of age and health. He had joined the president�s party for the remainder of Kennedy�s Texas visit, got swept up in the events in Dallas, and accompanied President Johnson and President Kennedy�s body back to Washington. Thomas continued to serve in Congress until his death on February 15, 1966.
� Archie P. McDonald
All Things HistoricalNovember , 2004 column
A syndicated column in over 40 East Texas newspapers
This column is provided as a public service by the East Texas Historical Association. Archie P. McDonald is director of the Association and author of more than 20 books on Texas.