Carleton James King (June 15, 1904 – November 19, 1977) was an attorney and politician from

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, ...

from 1950 to 1960, and a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1961 to 1974. A native of Saratoga Springs, King graduated from

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary ...

in 1926, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, and practiced in Saratoga Springs. He became active in politics and government as a Republican, and served as acting city court judge of Saratoga Springs from 1936 to 1941. In 1936, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress. In 1942, King was appointed Deputy District Attorney of Saratoga County, and he served until 1950. In 1950, King won election as district attorney, and he served until resigning at the end of 1960 to assume his seat in the Congress. In 1960, King won election to the U.S. House. He was reelected six times and served from January 1961 until resigning in December 1974. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1974, and resigned a few days before the end of his final term. In retirement, King resided in Florida. He died in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

on November 19, 1977. His remains were cremated and scattered in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

Early life

King was born in

on June 15, 1904, the son of James Henry King and Anna Louise (Rose) King. He graduated from

in 1926. He was a member of the

Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic Fraternities and sororities, fraternity with approximately 74 List of Phi Sigma Kappa chapters#Chapters, active chapters and provisional chapters in North Am ...

fraternity, and at graduation received the Corporation Prize, which was awarded to the student with the highest class standing in corporation law.

Career

After attaining

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1926, King practiced law in Saratoga Springs. In 1936, he was a candidate for Congress, but lost the Republican nomination to E. Harold Cluett. From 1936 to 1941, he was acting judge of the Saratoga Springs municipal court. King was an assistant district attorney of

from 1942 until 1950. In 1950, he was elected district attorney, and he served until resigning at the end of 1960 so he could begin the Congressional term to which he had been elected earlier that year. In 1955, King served as president of the New York State District Attorneys Association. In November 1957, leaders of organized crime in New York held a planning conference now known as the Apalachin meeting, which was interrupted by police. In response, Governor

Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986) was an American politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was a founder of Harriman & Co. which merged with the older Brown Brothers to form the Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. investment ...

appointed five District Attorneys, including King, to advise him on new legislation. In February 1958, the district attorneys recommended creation of a special rackets bureau within the

New York State Police The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the U.S. state of New York; it is part of the New York State Executive Department and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 non-sworn members. The New York State Police are re ...

U.S. Congressman

He was elected to Congress in 1960, and was reelected six times. He served from January 3, 1961, until his resignation on December 31, 1974. He unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 1974, and lost to Democratic nominee Edward W. Pattison, a victory attributed to the wave election that favored Democrats as voters responded to Republican involvement in the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

. King was recognized as a member of the Republican Party's conservative wing. In 1962, he proposed an across-the-board income tax of at least 25 percent. In addition, King argued that individual and corporate tax rates should not be higher than 47 percent. During his Congressional service, King served on the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

board of visitors.

Later life

In 1975, King was appointed to the board of visitors of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. In retirement, he resided in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He died in

on November 19, 1977. King was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Gulf of Mexico near Bradenton.

Family

In 1933, King married Constance M. Roddy of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. They were the parents of two children, son Carleton J. King Jr. and daughter Constance King, the wife of James A. Murphy Jr.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Carleton J. 1904 births 1977 deaths Politicians from Saratoga Springs, New York Union College (New York) alumni Albany Law School alumni County district attorneys in New York (state) Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century New York (state) politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives