Thomas Gayle Morris (August 20, 1919 – March 4, 2016) was an American politician. He was born in the town of

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

Eastland County, Texas Eastland County is a County (United States), county located in central West Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 17,725. The county seat is Eastland, Texas, Eastland. The county was founded in 1858 an ...

. Morris moved to New Mexico and 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 ...

from November 12, 1937, to March 22, 1944. He then worked as a farmer in Quay County, and graduated from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

in 1948. Morris served in the

New Mexico House of Representatives The New Mexico House of Representatives () is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the South ...

from 1953 to 1958, and was elected as a Democrat to 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 ...

in 1958. Morris began serving on January 3, 1959, and left office January 3, 1969, after being defeated for re-election. Following the abolition of multi-seat at-large districts, Morris' home was placed in , which covered the northeastern portion of the state and about three-fourths of

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. He was narrowly defeated by Republican businessman

Manuel Lujan Jr. Manuel Archibald Lujan Jr. (May 12, 1928 – April 25, 2019) was an American politician from New Mexico who sat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from 1969 to 1989 and was the United States secretary of the interior from 19 ...

He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for 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 ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, and then served as a management consultant and vice president for Bank Securities, Inc. As of 2013 he resided in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. Thomas G. Morris donated his Congressional Papers to the

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

Library in 1973. He died in March 2016 at the age of 96.Thomas Morris-obituary
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References

Sources

Thomas G. Morris Congressional Papers Finding Aid
1919 births 2016 deaths People from Quay County, New Mexico People from Eastland County, Texas Military personnel from Texas University of New Mexico alumni Farmers from New Mexico Democratic Party members of the New Mexico House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Mexico Politicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the New Mexico Legislature {{NewMexico-politician-stub