Sam Rayburn

Samuel Taliaferro “Sam” Rayburn
43rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office January 3, 1955 – November 16, 1961
Preceded by	Joseph William Martin, Jr. of Massachusetts
Succeeded by	John William McCormack of Massachusetts
In office January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953
Preceded by	Joseph William Martin, Jr.
Succeeded by	Joseph William Martin, Jr.
In office September 16, 1940 – January 3, 1947
Preceded by	William B. Bankhead of Alabama
Succeeded by	Joseph William Martin, Jr.
37th Dean of the United States House of Representatives
In office January 3, 1953 – November 16, 1961
Preceded by	Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina
Succeeded by	Carl Vinson of Georgia
Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives
In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955
Preceded by	Joseph William Martin, Jr.
Succeeded by	Joseph William Martin, Jr.
In office January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949
Preceded by	Joseph William Martin. Jr.
Succeeded by	Joseph William Martin, Jr.
Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives
In office January 3, 1937 – September 16, 1940
Preceded by	William B. Bankhead
Succeeded by	John William McCormack
U.S. Representative for Texas' 4th congressional district
In office March 4, 1913 – November 16, 1961
Preceded by	Choice B. Randell
Succeeded by	Ray Roberts
Texas State Representative for District 34 (Fannin County)
In office 1907–1913
Preceded by	Jesse Abram Thomas
Succeeded by	John Cunningham (changed to District 37) Rayburn was the Speaker of the Texas House from 1911 to 1913.
Born	January 6, 1882 Kingston, Tennessee
Died	November 16, 1961 (aged 79) Bonham, Texas.
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Metze Jones (married and divorced in 1927)
Alma mater	East Texas Normal College University of Texas School of Law
Occupation	Educator-turned-lawyer
Religion	Baptist

Samuel Taliaferro “Sam” Rayburn (January 6, 1882 – November 16, 1961) was an American politician who held the longest tenure in history, seventeen years, as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A Democrat from northern Texas, he was the 43rd House Speaker and represented the state's 4th congressional district from 1913 to 1961.

A native of Roane County, Tennessee, Rayburn mowed with his family to Texas in 1887 at the age of five. He briefly taught school until he was elected from District 34 in the Texas House of Representatives. He obtained his legal credentials through the University of Texas at Austin. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1912, when Woodrow Wilson defeated Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft for the presidency. He continually won reelection through 1960 and died in office a year thereafter. An associate of Vice President John Nance Garner, Rayburn was a mentor to later U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who served with Rayburn in the House from 1937 to 1949.

Rayburn became House Majority Leader in 1937 and was elevated to the position of Speaker of the House after the death of William B. Bankhead of Alabama. He led the House Democrats from 1940 to 1961, and served as Speaker of the House from 1940 to 1947, 1949 to 1953, and 1955 to 1961. He was the Minority Leader from 1947 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1955, when the Republicans under Joseph William Martin, Jr., of Massachusetts, held majorities in two nonconsecutive terms of Congress.

He voted against anti-lynching legislation in 1937.^[1]

Following the failure of the Cox Committee in the 82nd Congress to sufficiently investigate subversion among tax-exempt foundations, disgruntled Tennessee Republican B. Carroll Reece successfully advocated for a re-enactment of the Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations, which then became known as the Reece Committee. Rayburn worked to undermine the committee's work by appointing Ohio Democrat Wayne Hays to subvert and damage its reputation.^[2]

During the 1950s, Rayburn refused to sign the Southern Manifesto against school desegregation.^[3] He permitted committee chairmen to wield much of the authority in the House. He pushed for completion of the since abandoned U.S. Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, which he called uniting the Frost Belt with the Sun Belt. He often said that politics should stop at "the water's edge," meaning partisan wrangling should not extend to matters of foreign policy.

His home outside of Bonham, Texas is a state historic site. He has been honored in many ways: one of the Congressional office buildings is named for him, along with a high school near Houston, Lake Sam Rayburn (the largest lake wholly within the state boundaries), and a school district.

• Sam Rayburn | Britannica
• Profile at US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
• Profile at Find A Grave