Richard Howard Ichord Jr. (June 27, 1926 – December 25, 1992) was U.S. representative from Missouri and a significant

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

anti-Communist political figure. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he served as the last chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee between 1969 and 1975 (called the House Internal Security Committee since 1969).

Background

Richard H. Ichord Jr. was born in

Licking Licking is the action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid, food or minerals onto the tongue for ingestion, or to communicate with other animals. Many animals both gro ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. From 1944 to 1946 he served in the

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. He attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

in Columbia, receiving a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in 1949, and a Juris Doctor in 1952.

Career

Ichord worked as a lawyer in private practice.

Government service

From 1952 to 1960, he was a member of the

Missouri State House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

, where he served as

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

pro tempore in 1957, and Speaker in 1959. Elected as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for Missouri's 8th district in 1960, he was re-elected nine times, serving in the Eighty-seventh through Ninety-sixth Congresses (1961–1980). Ichord voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In addition to the House Un-American Activities Committee, he also served on the

House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of De ...

. He did not run for reelection in 1980.

Later years

After his retirement from office, Ichord became a professional advocate in Missouri and served as co-chairman of American Freedom Coalition with Congressman Bob Wilson.

Death

Ichord died age 66 on December 25, 1992. Survivors include his wife Millicent and three children, Richard, Pam and Kyle. Six grandchildren, Loran, Megan, Chase, Alexa, Courtney and Flemming.

Works

He co-authored the book ''Behind Every Bush: Treason or Patriotism'' (1979) with Boyd Upchurch.

References

*
ICHORD, Richard Howard, II, (1926 - 1992)
, '' Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–Present''. Retrieved January 12, 2006.
The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: I to Ingersol
. Retrieved January 12, 2006. *
SHSMO--Ichord, Richard H. (1926-1992), Papers, 1960-1980 (C1269)--INVENTORY
. Retrieved June 25, 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ichord, Richard Howard Jr. 1926 births 1992 deaths Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Speakers of the Missouri House of Representatives University of Missouri alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri 20th-century American politicians People from Texas County, Missouri Military personnel from Missouri American anti-communists