Ranulf Compton (September 16, 1878, Poe, Indiana – January 26, 1974) was a

United States representative 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

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. He also served as commander of the 327th (345th) Tank Battalion in

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (11 November 1885 – 21 December 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, then the Third Army in France and Germany after the Alli ...

's 304th (1st Provisional) Tank Brigade on the Western Front in 1918 France. Compton attended the public schools at

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

and was graduated from the Howe Military School,

Howe, Indiana Howe is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Lima Township, LaGrange County, Indiana. As of the 2010 census its population was 807. History Howe was settled in 1834. At that time, it was named "Mongoquinong", a name that ...

in 1899. After graduation, he attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He engaged in

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and Connecticut.Staff report (January 29, 1974). Ranulf Compton, 92, Ex-Representative. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Before and during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of infantry,

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, 1912-1916. He was Captain of infantry,

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 ...

, July 1916-March 1918 and Captain and

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 Tank Corps, American Expeditionary Forces, April 1918-August 1919. (He went overseas with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

on December 12, 1917 and was decorated with the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

and the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

.) Compton commanded one of the tank battalions in George S. Patton's tank brigade ( Sereno E. Brett commanding the other American tank battalion under Patton). When Patton was wounded the first day of the

Meuse–Argonne offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allies of World War I, Allied Offensive (military), offe ...

in late September 1918, Brett assumed command of Patton's brigade and Compton assumed command of "all the tanks at the front," and with some of the toughest fighting of the tank brigade still ahead. Compton retired from the United States Army on August 8, 1919, with rank of Major and then served as the military secretary to

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Nathan L. Miller of New York in 1920. Compton was the deputy secretary of state of New York in 1921 and 1922. He was the executive secretary and treasurer of the Hudson River Regulating District,

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

1923-1929 and served as aide-de-camp to Gov. Raymond E. Baldwin of Connecticut in 1940 and 1941. He was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-eighth Congress (January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1945) but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1944 to the Seventy-ninth Congress. After Congress, he was the president and owner of South Jersey Broadcasting Company from 1945 until his retirement in 1968. He resided in

Madison, Connecticut Madison is a New England town, town in the southeastern corner of New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, occupying a central location on Connecticut's Long Island Sound shoreline. The town is part of the South ...

until his death there in 1974 and was buried in West Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Ranulf 1878 births 1974 deaths People from Allen County, Indiana Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut People from Madison, Connecticut Politicians from Indianapolis Harvard University alumni United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Indiana 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives