Robert Woodrow Levering (October 3, 1914 – August 11, 1989) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, son-in-law of

Usher L. Burdick Usher Lloyd Burdick (February 21, 1879 – August 19, 1960) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from North Dakota. He was the father of Quentin Burdick. Early life and career Burdick was born in Owatonna, Minnesota, the so ...

and brother-in-law of

Quentin N. Burdick Quentin Northrup Burdick (June 19, 1908 – September 8, 1992) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, he represented North Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives (1959–1960) and the ...

Biography

Born near

Fredericktown, Ohio Fredericktown is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,493 at the 2010 census. History Fredericktown was platted in 1807, and named after Frederick, Maryland, the native home of a first settler. Geography Frederi ...

was son of Gertrude Alice and Daniel Lloyd Levering, Levering graduated from

Fredericktown High School Fredericktown High School is a public high school in Fredericktown, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Fredericktown Local School District. Their athletic teams are known as the Freddies with school colors of red and gray. Notable alumni ...

. He earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1936 from

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary a ...

Granville, Ohio Granville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,646 at the 2010 census. The village is located in a rural area of rolling hills in central Ohio. It is east of Columbus, the state capital, and west of Newark ...

, and his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

in 1940 from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of co ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was a librarian at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

from 1937 to 1941, and was a lawyer in private practice. Levering was in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020, ...

. As a civilian attorney working for the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

in Manila, Philippines, he became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

from 1942 to 1945."'March of Death' Survivor Speaker For Monday Talks"
'' The Newark Advocate and American Tribune'', Newark, Ohio, volume 178, number 84, February 6, 1947, page 8. He served as assistant attorney general of Ohio from 1949 to 1950. He was an unsuccessful

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

candidate for election to Congress in 1948, 1950, 1954, and 1956. Levering was elected as a Democrat to the

Eighty-sixth Congress The 86th 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, 1959 ...

(January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Eighty-seventh Congress in 1960 and for election in 1962. He died on August 11, 1989, in

, and his remains were

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

Publications

References

Retrieved on 2010-01-04 {{DEFAULTSORT:Levering, Robert Woodrow 1914 births 1989 deaths American people of World War II Librarians at the Library of Congress Ohio lawyers Bataan Death March prisoners People from Fredericktown, Ohio Military personnel from Ohio Denison University alumni George Washington University Law School alumni Burdick family 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio United States Army personnel United States Army reservists World War II civilian prisoners held by Japan