Byron Giles Rogers (August 1, 1900 – December 31, 1983) was an American politician from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Early life

Rogers was the son of Peter and Minnie May Rogers. Born in

Greenville, Texas Greenville is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, about northeast of Dallas. It is the county seat and largest city of Hunt County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,557, and in 2019, its estimated population was 28,827. ...

, he moved with his parents to Oklahoma in April 1902. He attended the public schools of

Checotah, Oklahoma Checotah is a town in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named for Samuel Checote, the first chief of the Creek Nation elected after the American Civil War, Civil War. Its population was 3,481 at the United States Census, 2000, 2000 ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as a private in the

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. He attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

in 1918, the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

from 1919 to 1922, and the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

in 1923 and 1924. He earned his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

Sturm College of Law The Sturm College of Law ("Denver Law") is the professional graduate law school of the University of Denver. It is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law was one of the first in America's Mountai ...

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

, 1925, and commenced the practice of law in Las Animas, Colorado. He married his secretary, Helen Kepler, in 1933, and they had two children, Shirley and Byron Jr.

Legal career

Rogers served as

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city att ...

of Las Animas from 1929 to 1933. He was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 1932 to 1935, serving as speaker in 1933. He served as

county attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...

of Bent County, Colorado, in 1933, and was later on the legal staff of Agricultural Adjustment Administration and National Recovery Administration,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in 1933 and 1934. He served as assistant

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for Colorado 1934–1936, and

Attorney General of Colorado The Attorney General of the State of Colorado is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Colorado and the head of the Colorado Department of Law, a principal department of the Colorado state government. It is an elected position with a four ...

1936–1941. He was a public member of the War Labor Board from 1942 to 1945.

Congressional career

Rogers was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Eighty-second and to the ten succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1971). In 1970, due to his support of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, he was challenged in the primary by attorney Craig Barnes. Barnes, a tall, well-groomed, politically astute 42-year old attorney, stood in marked contrast to 70-year old Rogers. Barnes ran an aggressive campaign, attacking Rogers on many issues, including the war, and actively recruited new, young voters. In the primary, Barnes would defeat Rogers by a mere 30 votes (27,218 to 27,188). Rogers alleged foul that Barnes' staff had registered

students who were non-residents from other states. Had Barnes won, Rogers planned to challenge the general election in the House, however, instead many of Rogers' supporters, especially in Northwest Denver, bolted to the Republican candidate, Mike McKevitt, who would defeat Barnes by more than 10,000 votes. Rogers was a resident of

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

until his death there December 31, 1983. He was interred in Mount Lindo Cemetery near Tiny Town, Colorado. The

Byron G. Rogers Federal Building and United States Courthouse The Byron G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is a historic building on Stout Street in downtown Denver, Colorado, which serves as a courthouse of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Completed in 1965, the b ...

was named in his honor in 1984. He voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

References

* Retrieved on 2009-02-20

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Byron G. 1900 births 1983 deaths Colorado Attorneys General District attorneys in Colorado Assistant United States Attorneys People from Greenville, Texas People from Las Animas, Colorado Politicians from Denver Sturm College of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado Speakers of the Colorado House of Representatives United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians