Thomas Rust Underwood (March 3, 1898June 29, 1956) was an American politician who served

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

in the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

and in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Early life

Thomas Rust Underwood was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky on March 3, 1891. He attended public schools and graduated from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

in 1917. During

World War I 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 ...

, Underwood served in the Students Army Training Corps at the University of Kentucky.

Career

Underwood worked as the general manager of the

Lexington Herald The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second larg ...

from 1931 to 1935 and editor from 1935 to 1936. He was a member of the Kentucky state planning board from 1931 to 1935 and secretary of the state racing commission from 1931 to 1943 and 1947 to 1947. He was secretary of the National Association of State Racing Commissioners from 1934 to 1948. He then served as the assistant to the director of the Office of Economic Stabilization in 1943. He was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-first Congress; he was reelected to the Eighty-second Congress and served from January 3, 1949, until his resignation on March 17, 1951. Underwood was appointed on March 19, 1951, to the

as a Democrat to fill the vacancy in the term ending January 3, 1955, caused by the death of Virgil Chapman and served from March 19, 1951, to November 4, 1952. He sought to retain the seat in the 1952 special election but lost to

John Sherman Cooper John Sherman Cooper (August 23, 1901 – February 21, 1991) was an American politician, jurist, and diplomat from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He served three non-consecutive, partial terms in the United States Senate before being elect ...

. After his stint in the Senate, Underwood went back to his editorial duties with the Lexington Herald.

Death

Underwood died in Lexington, Kentucky on June 29, 1956. He was interred at

Lexington Cemetery Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky. The Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery, in part to deal ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Thomas R. 1898 births 1956 deaths People from Hopkinsville, Kentucky University of Kentucky alumni American people of English descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Democratic Party United States senators from Kentucky Politicians from Lexington, Kentucky 20th-century American politicians