Donald Lester Jackson (January 23, 1910 – May 27, 1981) was an American military veteran, public relations executive and politician who served seven terms as a U.S. Representative from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from 1947 to 1961.

Early life and career

Born in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, Edmunds County,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, Jackson attended the public schools of South Dakota and California.

Military

He served as a private in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

from 1927 to 1931 and again from 1940 until discharged as a colonel in 1945 with two years' combat service overseas during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Public relations

He engaged in public relations, and worked as a reporter and editor in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, from 1938 to 1940. He served as director of publicity for the city of Santa Monica, in 1939 and 1940.

Congress

Jackson was elected as a Republican to the Eightieth and to the six succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1961). Among other members of that historic 1946 congressional freshman class were future U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. He was a congressional adviser at the ninth conference of American States at Bogotá, Colombia in 1948 and

House Un-American Activities Committee

His congressional service included the House Un-American Activities Committee, and a notable role in accusing Methodist Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam of engaging in

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

activities. He was appointed to the committee to replace future president

, who had just been elected to the United States Senate.

Civil Rights votes

Jackson voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, but did not vote on the Civil Rights Act of 1960. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1960.

Later career

He worked as a radio and television commentator from 1960 to 1968, and was appointed by President Nixon as a commissioner on Interstate Commerce Commission in 1969.

Death and burial

Jackson resided in Sosua,

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, until his death in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, May 27, 1981. He was interred in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Electoral history

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Donald Lester 1910 births 1981 deaths American Congregationalists United States Marine Corps officers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People from Ipswich, South Dakota Military personnel from South Dakota Politicians from Santa Monica, California United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California United States Marine Corps colonels Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee Military personnel from California 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives