Richard Belmont Ray (February 2, 1927 – May 29, 1999) was an American politician who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

for

Georgia's 3rd congressional district Georgia's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. The district is currently represented by Republican Brian Jack. The district's boundaries have been redrawn following the 2010 census, which grant ...

from 1983 to 1993.

Early life

Ray was born in

Fort Valley, Georgia Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, Peach County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780. The city is in the Warner R ...

, and graduated from Crawford County High School in

Roberta, Georgia Roberta is a city in Crawford County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,007 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Macon metropolitan statistical area. History Creek Agency In the early nineteenth century, Indian agent Benjamin H ...

, in 1944.

Career

After graduating from high school, Ray served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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 ...

, from 1944 to 1946. After the war, Ray worked as a farmer and local businessman before serving as mayor of

Perry, Georgia Perry is a city in Houston County, Georgia, Houston and Peach County, Georgia, Peach counties in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat of Houston County. The population was 13,839 at the 2010 census, up from 9,60 ...

, from 1964 to 1970. During that time,

Sam Nunn Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Georgia (1972–1997) as a member of the Democratic Party. After leaving Congress, Nunn co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initi ...

was city attorney, and after Nunn's election 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 1972, Ray became Nunn's administrative assistant. In 1982, Ray was elected as a Democrat to the

representing

. He was re-elected to that position four times. After the 1990 Census, Georgia gained a new congressional district. Despite this, the Democratic-controlled

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

dismantled

Georgia's 6th congressional district Georgia's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. , it is represented by Democrat Lucy McBath. History Georgia's 6th congressional district has existed since the 29th Congress (1845–1847), the ...

and shifted much of the southern portion of

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

's old territory into Ray's Columbus-based district. However, the new district was considerably more urban and Republican than Ray's old district. Ray lost to Republican

state Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Mac Collins, a resident of the former Gingrich territory, by almost 10 points.

Personal life

After his congressional service, Ray resided in both Byron, Georgia and

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. He died in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

in 1999.

References

External links

* Retrieved on 2008-01-26 * * 1927 births 1999 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Fort Valley, Georgia United States Navy sailors United States Navy personnel of World War II Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Crawford County, Georgia 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{GeorgiaUS-mayor-stub