Walter Franklin Horan (October 15, 1898 – December 19, 1966) was an American politician, a

congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

from

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

for 22 years. First elected in 1942, he was a Republican 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 eleven terms, from January 3, 1943, to January 3, 1965. Horan represented the Fifth Congressional District of Washington, which included

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

and Wenatchee.

Early life

A fruit grower and packer, Horan was born and raised near

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. Located in the north-central part of the stat ...

, the younger son of Michael and Margaret A. (Rankin) Horan. His father Mike was a pioneer fruit grower in the valley and the son of Irish immigrants. Walt served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

as a

gunner's mate The United States Navy and United States Coast Guard occupational rating of gunner's mate (GM) is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) to enlisted sailors who either satisfactorily complete initial Gunner's Mate "A" sch ...

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 ...

, and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Washington State College Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant universities in the American West. With an un ...

in Pullman in 1925. His wife, Helen L. "Sally" Campbell of Eureka, Montana, was a college classmate. Horan and his older brother John operated one of the largest fruit ranches in the state. He ran for Congress in 1942, primarily to improve the representation of the agricultural sector.

Congressional career

Horan ran for Congress in 1940 from the 5th congressional district, but lost the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

to the two-term incumbent, Democrat Charles H. Leavy. Leavy resigned in August 1942 to become a

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A U.S. federal judge is appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Arti ...

on the

U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

in western Washington, which left the seat vacant. In the Republican primary in September, Horan defeated Spokane attorney and civic leader Joe Albi, then easily defeated former two-term

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and 1940 gubernatorial candidate Clarence Dill in the

in November. Horan's victory was the first win by a Republican in the district in twenty years. In Congress, he acted as chairman of the House District of Columbia Committee, and sat on the Agriculture, Legislative, State, Commerce, Justice, and Judiciary Sub-Committees of the

House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Co ...

. Horan voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Defeat

Seeking a twelfth term at age 66, Horan won the Republican primary over Sam C. Parks, but was defeated in the 1964 general election by Democrat Tom Foley, a 35-year-old Spokane lawyer. Foley held the seat for the next thirty years, including the last six as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

, until defeated in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

at age 65 by George Nethercutt. Horan suffered acute

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...

on election night in Wenatchee and was hospitalized for several weeks. Ten months earlier in January, he had been treated at

Bethesda Naval Hospital Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC; formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med) is a United States military medical center located in B ...

for a

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

attack, which was publicly known.

Death

Two years out of office, Horan and his wife Sally (1904–95) were in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in December 1966 to visit their daughter and her family. He suffered a fatal heart attack in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

at age 68. Horan and his wife are buried in the Wenatchee City Cemetery. The plaza at the federal courthouse in Spokane is named for Horan. The brothers' fruit operation continues as McDougall & Sons. Following John's stroke (and death in 1954), Jacquelyn (1924–2008), eldest of his four daughters, and her husband Robert D. McDougall (1924–2012) took over management of Horan Brothers after Walt Horan's son Michael ran the orchard until it was taken by the government and turned into a park. All of the fruit trees were cut down.

References

External links

*
Washington Secretary of State
– History Makers – Walt Horan * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horan, Walt 1898 births 1966 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I Washington State University alumni American orchardists American people of Irish descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) United States Navy sailors 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives