Robert Dinsmore Harrison (January 26, 1897 – June 11, 1977) was a

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

Republican politician. Born on a farm near

Panama, Nebraska Panama is a village in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 235 at the 2020 census. History In 1879, the Panama Cemetery Association was formed and ra ...

on January 26, 1897, he graduated from Nebraska State Teachers College, now known as

Peru State College Peru State College (Peru) is a public college in Peru, Nebraska, United States. It was founded by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1865, making it the first and oldest institution of higher education in Nebraska. The college is org ...

in 1926. He also graduated from

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

in 1928 and

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in 1934. In 1918 to 1919, 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 was a sergeant in the Twenty-second Engineers. He was the superintendent of schools in

Bradshaw, Nebraska Bradshaw is a village in York County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 273 at the 2010 census. History Bradshaw was platted in 1879 when the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad was extended to that point. Bradshaw was the maiden ...

(1926–1929) and

De Witt, Nebraska De Witt (also spelled DeWitt) is a village in Saline County, Nebraska, Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History De Witt was established in 1872 when the railroad was e ...

(1929–1937). He was a member of the

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

Norfolk, Nebraska Norfolk ( or ) is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 76 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,955 at the 2020 census, mak ...

from 1942 to 1951 and a member of the Governor's Highway Advisory Committee. He owned an oil business in Norfolk and a farm in

Cedar County, Nebraska Cedar County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 8,380. The county seat is Hartington. The county was formed in 1857, and was named for the Cedar tree groves in the area. In the ...

. He was elected as a Republican to the

Eighty-second United States Congress The 82nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...

, December 4, 1951, in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Karl Stefan Karl Stefan (March 1, 1884 – October 2, 1951) was a Czech-American politician, newspaper editor, publisher, and radio commentator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Nebraska's 3rd congressional district in the U. ...

. He was reelected to the three succeeding Congresses and served from December 4, 1951, to January 3, 1959. Harrison voted in favor of the

Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights law passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. E ...

. He unsuccessfully ran for reelection in 1958 to the Eighty-sixth Congress. He was an adviser to Board of Directors of the

Commodity Credit Corporation The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices" (federally chartered by the CCC Charter Act of 1948 (P.L. 80-806) ...

in the

U.S. 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 production ...

from January 6, 1959 to April 1, 1960. He was then appointed the Nebraska director for the

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) is a wholly owned government corporation managed by the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. FCIC manages the federal crop insurance program, which provides U.S. far ...

on April 1, 1960 and served until February 1, 1962. He ran unsuccessfully for election in 1962 to the Eighty-eighth United States Congress. He retired to Norfolk where he died June 11, 1977. He is buried in Panama Cemetery.

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External links

* at

Nebraska State Historical Society Nebraska State Historical Society, formerly History Nebraska, is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." It w ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Robert Dinsmore 1897 births 1977 deaths Peru State College alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni People from Cedar County, Nebraska Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska Politicians from Norfolk, Nebraska 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives