Gordon Llewellyn Allott (January 2, 1907January 17, 1989) was a
Republican American politician.
Biography
Allott was born in
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The ...
, to Bertha (née Llewellyn) and Leonard J. Allott. His maternal grandparents were
Welsh and his paternal grandparents were
English. He graduated from the
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...
in 1927 and from its law school in 1929. Allott was also an athlete in his youth, winning the
440 yd hurdles at the
1929 United States championships.
He was admitted to the
bar in 1929 and commenced practice in Pueblo. He moved to
Lamar, Colorado, in 1930 and continued practicing law.
Allott was the
county attorney of
Prowers County, Colorado, in 1934 and from 1941 to 1946. From 1934 to 1960, he was also the director of the First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Lamar. He became Lamar's city attorney in 1937, and served in this position until 1941.
During World War II, Allott served as a
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
in the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
from 1942 to 1946. After the war he became a
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 ...
in the fifteenth judicial district from 1946 to 1948. He was the vice chairman of the
Colorado Board of Paroles from 1951 to 1955, and he served as the
33rd lieutenant governor of Colorado from 1951 to 1955 under
Democratic governor
Walter Walford Johnson and
Republican governor
Daniel I. J. Thornton.
Allott was elected to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
in 1954. He was reelected in 1960 and again in 1966, and served from January 3, 1955, to January 3, 1973. There he was
Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. Allott voted in favor of the
Civil Rights Acts of 1957,
1964, and
1968, as well as the
24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the confirmation of
Thurgood Marshall
Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...
to the
U.S. Supreme Court, while Allott did not vote on the
Civil Rights Act of 1960.
He was narrowly defeated for reelection in 1972 in an
upset.
Allott died in
Englewood, Colorado
The City of Englewood is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 33,659 at the 2020 United States census. Englewood is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan S ...
, and was interred in
Fairmount Cemetery,
Denver, Colorado
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
.
Paul Weyrich and
George Will worked on his Senate staff.
See also
*
List of Chairpersons of the College Republicans
Sources
* Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives.
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Allott, Gordon Llewellyn
1907 births
1989 deaths
20th-century American lawyers
American athlete-politicians
American male hurdlers
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
American people of English descent
American people of Welsh descent
College Republican National Committee chairs
Colorado Republicans
District attorneys in Colorado
Lieutenant governors of Colorado
People from Lamar, Colorado
Politicians from Pueblo, Colorado
Republican Party United States senators from Colorado
United States Army Air Forces officers
20th-century American Episcopalians
Military personnel from Colorado
Burials at Fairmount Cemetery (Denver, Colorado)
University of Colorado Law School alumni
20th-century United States senators
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
20th-century American sportsmen