Ralph Rivers

Ralph Julian Rivers (May 23, 1903 – August 14, 1976) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as the first United States Representative from Alaska, serving from statehood in 1959 to his resignation in 1966 following his defeat by Republican Howard Wallace Pollock.[2] He previously served as the shadow U.S. Representative from Alaska Territory from 1956 to 1959.

Ralph Rivers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Alaska's at-large district
In office
January 3, 1959 – December 30, 1966
Preceded byBob Bartlett (Delegate)
Himself (Shadow Representative)
Succeeded byHoward Pollock
Shadow Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from the Alaska Territory's
at-large district
In office
October 6, 1956 – January 3, 1959
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded byHimself (Representative)
Mayor of Fairbanks
In office
1952–1954
Preceded byRobert Hoopes
Succeeded byDouglas Preston
Attorney General of the Alaska Territory
In office
1945–1949
GovernorErnest Gruening
Preceded byHenry Roden
Succeeded byGerald Williams
United States Attorney for the Fourth Division of Alaska Territory
In office
1933–1944
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byJulien Hurley[1]
Succeeded byHarry Arend
Personal details
Born(1903-05-23)May 23, 1903
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
DiedAugust 14, 1976(1976-08-14) (aged 73)
Chehalis, Washington, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Washington, Seattle (LLB)

Biography

Born in Seattle, Washington to Louisa Zenaide (née Lavoy) and Julian Guy Rivers,[3] Rivers attended grammar school in Flat, Alaska, and Franklin High School in Seattle. He worked as a gold miner in Flat from 1921 to 1923, and then earned an LL.B. from the University of Washington School of Law in 1929. He then worked as a lawyer in private practice for several years.

Rivers, at bottom left, celebrating Alaska becoming a state on January 3, 1959. Behind Rivers is Bob Atwood. To his left are Fred Seaton, Ernest Gruening, Bob Bartlett, Mike Stepovich and Waino Hendrickson.

Rivers was a lifelong civil servant, working in a number of public positions throughout his life. He served as United States Attorney for District of Alaska, from 1933 to 1944.[4] He was then elected as the attorney general of Alaska, serving from 1945 to 1949.[5] He was the chair of the Employment Security Commission of Alaska from 1950 to 1952, and then became the mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska from 1952 to 1954. In 1954 he was also president of the League of Alaskan Cities. He was a member of the Alaska Territorial Senate in 1955, and was the second vice president of the Alaska Constitutional Convention at College, Alaska in 1955 and 1956. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1960, 1964, and 1968.

Rivers appeared on the game show To Tell the Truth as contestant #1 in the second group of contestants on June 2, 1959.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1957 and 1958, Rivers was a United States Representative-elect under the Alaska-Tennessee Plan in Washington, D.C., on a provisional basis, pending statehood. Upon the admission of Alaska as a State into the Union, he was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-sixth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1959 until December 30, 1966.[7] He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninetieth Congress in 1966, resigning days before the end of his term.

Electoral history

Alaska's at-large congressional district: Results 1958–1966[8]

Year Republican Votes Pct Democrat Votes Pct
1958 Henry A. Benson 20,699 42.5% Ralph J. Rivers 27,948 57.5%
1960 R. L. Rettig 25,517 43.2% Ralph J. Rivers (inc.) 33,546 56.8%
1962 Lowell Thomas, Jr. 26,638 44% Ralph J. Rivers (inc.) 33,953 56%
1964 Lowell Thomas, Jr. 32,556 48.5% Ralph J. Rivers (inc.) 34,590 51.5%
1966 Howard W. Pollock 34,040 51.6% Ralph J. Rivers (inc.) 31,867 48.4%

References
  1. "The Political Graveyard: U.S. District Attorneys in Alaska".
  2. "Biographical Guide to Members of Congress". U.S. Congress. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  3. "Washington Birth Records, 1869-1950", FamilySearch, retrieved April 6, 2018
  4. "District of Alaska". U.S. Department of Justice. Office of the United States Attorneys. 29 January 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  5. "Creating Alaska-entry for Ralph Rivers". University of Alaska. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  6. "To Tell the Truth - Collegiate grandmother; First Alaskan in House of Representatives". YouTube. June 2, 1959. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  7. Warren, Kenneth F., ed. (2008). "Alaska". Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. p. 28. ISBN 978-1452265872. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  8. "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
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