John Edward Roush (September 12, 1920 – March 26, 2004) was an American lawyer and

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 who served eight terms as a U.S. Representative from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

from 1959 to 1969, and again from 1971 to 1977.

Early life and career

Born in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, Roush graduated from Huntington High School,

Huntington, Indiana Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington Township, Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington and Union Township, H ...

, 1938. A.B., Huntington College,

, 1942. LL.B., Indiana University School of Law – Bloomington, Indiana, 1949.

World War II

He was 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 from 1950 to 1952. His later service was in the reserves, where he was promoted to major. He was a lawyer in private practice and served as member of the Indiana state legislature from 1949 to 1950. Roush was elected prosecuting attorney of

Huntington County, Indiana Huntington County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern central part of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States census, the population was 36,662. The county seat (and only city) is Huntington, Indiana, ...

from 1954 to 1958, and to the Board of Trustees of Huntington College,

from 1958 to 1960, and from 1981 to 1987.

Congress

Roush was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-sixth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1969). In the 1960 election, Roush's opponent George Chambers was at first declared the winner by 12 votes and certified by the state of Indiana as such. Roush contested the election and neither man was seated, though both were paid a congressman's salary and staff while the contest was decided. There was no Indiana law to govern recounts and so the House committee carried it out on its own rules, and at the conclusion declared Roush the winner by 99 votes. He was sworn in following a vote to seat him on June 14, 1961. Redistricting by the Indiana legislature eliminated Roush's district and drew his home in Huntington into the

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

-based 4th Congressional District of E. Ross Adair, a Republican. Adair defeated Roush for reelection to the Ninety-first Congress in 1968. Roush sought a rematch against Adair in 1970 and narrowly defeated him, and he served three more terms in the House (January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1977). Roush defeated State Senator

Allan Bloom Allan David Bloom (September 14, 1930 – October 7, 1992) was an American philosopher, classicist, and academician. He studied under David Grene, Leo Strauss, Richard McKeon, and Alexandre Kojève. He subsequently taught at Cornell Un ...

in 1972 and State Senator Walter P. Helmke in 1974. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninety-fifth Congress in 1976. Roush was defeated by future U.S. Senator and Vice President

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

Later career and death

He served as director, regional and intergovernmental operations for the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

from 1977 to 1979, and as Interim president, Huntington College,

, in 1989. He died on March 26, 2004, in

. He was interred in Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery,

. The Huntington Reservoir was renamed J. Edward Roush Lake following congressional passage of a resolution authored by U.S. Representative Mark E. Souder.

Legacy

Mr. Roush was instrumental in the establishment of the 911 emergency telephone system commonly used today.

References

Retrieved on 2008-03-19

External links

J. Edward Roush's Army career
* Retrieved on 2008-03-19 {{DEFAULTSORT:Roush, John Edward 1920 births 2004 deaths Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives United States Army officers People from Osage County, Oklahoma Huntington University (United States) alumni Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni People from Huntington County, Indiana Military personnel from Indiana Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana United States Army reservists 20th-century Indiana politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives