Robert Gray Allen (August 24, 1902August 9, 1963) was an American businessman and a two-term Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

from 1937 to 1941.

Early life and education

Allen was born in

Winchester, Massachusetts Winchester is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north of downtown Boston as part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. It is also one of the List of Massachusetts locations by per capit ...

, on August 24, 1902.Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975. Page 8 In 1906, he moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. He was graduated from

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

, Massachusetts, in 1922 and later attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, Massachusetts. He moved to Greensburg, Pennsylvania in 1929 and was a salesman and sales manager for a valve and fittings manufacturing business until 1937.

Political and military career

He was district administrator of the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

in 1935 and 1936. Allen was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-sixth Congresses. He was not a candidate for renomination in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

. He became president of the Duff-Norton Manufacturing Company in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, from 1940 to 1943. He was commissioned a major in the

United States Army Ordnance Corps The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a Combat service support (United States), sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia ...

in July 1942 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1943. He served until his discharge in January 1945. After his time in Congress and the Army, he served in a variety of business positions: *

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Eddystone in the early 20th century. The com ...

(Sales manager) from 1945 to 1946 *Fisher Plastics Corporation (Vice President) in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

from 1946 to 1947 * Great Lakes Carbon Corporation (Vice President) from 1947 to 1954 *Pesco Products (President), a division of

Borg-Warner BorgWarner Inc. is an American automotive and e-mobility supplier headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. As of 2023, the company maintains production facilities and sites at 92 locations in 24 countries, and generates revenues of US$14.2 bi ...

Corporation, from 1954–1957 * Bucyrus-Erie Company (Vice President in 1957 - 1958, and president in 1958) *Bucyrus-Erie Co. of Canada, Ltd. (chairman of the board and president) *Ruston-Bucyrus, Ltd.,

Lincoln, England Lincoln () is a cathedral city and non-metropolitan district, district in Lincolnshire, England, of which it is the county town. In the 2021 Census, the city's district had a population of 103,813. The 2021 census gave the Lincoln Urban Area, u ...

(chairman of the board) *Director of the First National Bank of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He retired from business activities in 1962 and moved from Milwaukee, to

Keene, Virginia Keene is an unincorporated community in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. As of the 1990 census, the town had a total population of 10. The town is known for being the location of the last sighting of a passenger pigeon in the wild, b ...

, where he died on August 9, 1963, aged 60.

Family and personal life

Allen married Katharine Hancock Wilson on January 17, 1925. Together, they had three children.

References

Retrieved on 2008-01-26
The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Robert G. 1902 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Episcopalians American chairpersons of corporations United States Army officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War II American bankers Harvard College alumni Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Army Ordnance Corps personnel 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives