Donald Ray "Billy" Matthews (October 3, 1907 – October 26, 1997) was an American educator,

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 ...

veteran and politician who served seven terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from

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 ...

from 1953 to 1967.

Life and career

Born in

Micanopy, Florida Micanopy ( ) is a town in Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, United States, located south of Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. It is part of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistica ...

, Matthews attended the public schools of

Hawthorne, Florida Hawthorne () is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States, incorporated in 1881. Indigenous peoples of the Americas had been living in the area since around 100 CE; Hawthorne grew around their trading trails. Throughout its history, Hawt ...

. He graduated from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

at Gainesville in 1929 and taught school in

Leesburg, Florida Leesburg is a city in Lake County, Florida, Lake County, Florida, United States. As of 2020, the population had exactly 27,000 residents. Leesburg is in central Florida, between Lake Harris (Florida), Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head o ...

, and in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

from 1929 to 1935. He also served as a high school principal in

Newberry, Florida Newberry is a city located in the southwest corner of Alachua County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,342 as of the 2020 Census, up from 4,950 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

in 1935 and 1936. He served as a member of the State house of representatives in 1935 was a member of the administrative staff of the

from 1936 to 1952. He served as assistant State

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

agent in the summers of 1928–1938.

World War II

He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1942 to 1946 and was discharged as a captain of Infantry.

Congress

Matthews 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Eighty-third and to the six succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1967), during which time he was a signatory to the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

''. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninetieth Congress in 1966, defeated in the Democratic primary by

Don Fuqua John Donald Fuqua (born August 20, 1933) is a former U.S. Democratic politician from Florida. He represented Florida in the United States House of Representatives from 1963 to 1987. Early years and education Fuqua was born in Jacksonville, Duv ...

Later career

In his post-congressional years, Matthews worked as a consultant and administrator for the Rural Community Development Service of the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

from 1967 to 1969. He was also an instructor of political science at Santa Fe Community College (Gainesville, Florida) from 1969 to 1977. He was a resident of

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

until his death.

Death and burial

Billy Matthews died on October 26, 1997 at the age of 90. He was interred at Hawthorne Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Donald Ray (Billy) 1907 births 1997 deaths American school principals Schoolteachers from Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Military personnel from Florida People from Gainesville, Florida Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida People from Micanopy, Florida United States Army officers University of Florida alumni University of Florida faculty Signatories of the Southern Manifesto 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature