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|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]​ nominee for [[governor]] of Texas in 1964

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]​ nominee for [[governor]] of Texas in 1964

|religion=[[Presbyterian]]​

|religion=[[Presbyterian]]​

|spouse= Marilyn Berry Crichton​<br>

|spouse=Marilyn Berry Crichton​<br>

'''Two daughters''':<br>

'''Two daughters''':<br>

Anne C. Crews<br>

Anne C. Crews<br>

Catherine C. Morris<br>​

Catherine C. Morris​}}​

}}​

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  ​

'''John Alston Crichton''', known as '''Jack Crichton''' (October 16, 1916 &ndash; December 10, 2007),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=April 8, 2010}}</ref> was an [[oil]] and [[natural gas]] industrialist from [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], who was among the first of his ranks to recognize the importance of [[petroleum]] reserves in the [[Middle East]].<ref name=dmn>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=john-alston-crichton&pid=99503957|author=Joe Simnache|title="John Alston "Jack" Crichton: Oilman, military officer in WWII"|publisher=''Dallas Morning News''|date=December 15, 2007|accessdate=October 9, 2015}}</ref> In 1964, he carried the [[Republican Party|Republican]] banner in a fruitless campaign against the second-term  reelection of [[Governor]] [[John Connally]], then a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], who switched parties nine years later.

'''John Alston Crichton''', known as '''Jack Crichton''' (October 16, 1916 &ndash; December 10, 2007),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=April 8, 2010}}</ref> was an [[oil]] and [[natural gas]] industrialist from [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], who was among the first of his ranks to recognize the importance of [[petroleum]] reserves in the [[Middle East]].<ref name=dmn>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=john-alston-crichton&pid=99503957|author=Joe Simnache|title="John Alston "Jack" Crichton: Oilman, military officer in WWII"|publisher=''Dallas Morning News''|date=December 15, 2007|accessdate=October 9, 2015}}</ref> In 1964, he carried the [[Republican Party|Republican]] banner in a fruitless campaign against the second-term  reelection of [[Governor]] [[John Connally]], then a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], who switched parties nine years later.

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==Early years and education==​

==Early years and education==​

Crichton was born on a [[cotton]] plantation in the community of Crichton near Coushatta in Red River Parish in northwestern  [[Louisiana]]. He graduated in 1933 from Clifton Ellis Byrd High School]] in [[Shreveport]] and then enrolled at [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]]. He played [[tennis]], [[basketball]], and ran cross country track. His classmates included future industrialist H.R. "Bum" Bright and Earle Cabell] later a [[mayor]] of Dallas, who unseated veteran Republican [[U.S. Representative]] Republican Bruce Reynolds Alger in 1964 landslide for [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. At TAMU, Crichton wrote an award-winning essay, "The Political Career of [[Huey Long|Huey P. Long]]".<ref name=spartacus>{{cite web|url=http://spartacus-educational.com/MDcrichton.htm|title=Jack Alston Crichton|publisher=spartacus-educational.com|accessdate=October 9, 2015}}</ref>  Crichton served TAMU as the president of the Lettermen's Association and chairman of the Development Foundation. He also served on the board of the Association of Former Students from 1965 to 1968, was the association president in 1967, and in 1983 was named a "Distinguished Alumnus."<ref name=tamu>"Association past president Jack Crichton  '37 passes away, Aggienetwork.com, accessed April 8, 2010; no longer on-line.}}</ref> He later obtained a [[Master of Science]] degree from the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. at which he was affiliated with Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.<ref name=dmn/>​

Crichton was born on a [[cotton]] plantation in the community of Crichton near Coushatta in Red River Parish in northwestern  [[Louisiana]]. He graduated in 1933 from Clifton Ellis Byrd High School]] in [[Shreveport]] and then enrolled at [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]]. He played [[tennis]], [[basketball]], and ran cross country track. His classmates included future industrialist H. R. "Bum" Bright and Earle Cabell] later a [[mayor]] of Dallas, who unseated veteran Republican [[U.S. Representative]] Republican Bruce Reynolds Alger in 1964 landslide for [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. At TAMU, Crichton wrote an award-winning essay, "The Political Career of [[Huey Long|Huey P. Long]]".<ref name=spartacus>{{cite web|url=http://spartacus-educational.com/MDcrichton.htm|title=Jack Alston Crichton|publisher=spartacus-educational.com|accessdate=October 9, 2015}}</ref>  Crichton served TAMU as the president of the Lettermen's Association and chairman of the Development Foundation. He also served on the board of the Association of Former Students from 1965 to 1968, was the association president in 1967, and in 1983 was named a "Distinguished Alumnus."<ref name=tamu>"Association past president Jack Crichton  '37 passes away, Aggienetwork.com, accessed April 8, 2010; no longer on-line.}}</ref> He later obtained a [[Master of Science]] degree from the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. at which he was affiliated with Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.<ref name=dmn/>​

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==Military==​

==Military==​

In 1961, Crichton joined with fellow Dallas [[conservative]]s to establish the program "Know Your Enemy", which aimed to combat communist influence that "was undermining the American way of life." In 1962, Crichton opened a command post underneath the patio of the Dallas Health and Science Museum with the goal of maintaining the continuity-of-government were the United States attacked.<ref name=spartacus/>{​

In 1961, Crichton joined with fellow Dallas [[conservative]]s to establish the program "Know Your Enemy", which aimed to combat communist influence that "was undermining the American way of life." In 1962, Crichton opened a command post underneath the patio of the Dallas Health and Science Museum with the goal of maintaining the continuity-of-government were the United States attacked.<ref name=spartacus/>{​

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In November 1963, Crichton was involved in the arrangements of the fatal visit of U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]] to Dallas. Crichton's friend, Deputy Police Chief George L. Lumpkin, a member of the 488th Military Intelligence Detachment, drove the pilot car of Kennedy's motorcade. Lieutenant Colonel George Whitmeyer, the East Texas Army Reserve commander, was also in the car. The pilot car stopped briefly in front of the [[Texas School Book Depository]], where Lumpkin spoke to a policeman controlling traffic at the corner of Houston and Elm streets.​

In November 1963, Crichton was involved in the arrangements of the fatal visit of U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]] to Dallas. Crichton's friend, Deputy Police Chief George L. Lumpkin, a member of the 488th Military Intelligence Detachment, drove the pilot car of Kennedy's motorcade. Lieutenant Colonel George Whitmeyer, the East Texas Army Reserve commander, was also in the car. The pilot car stopped briefly in front of the Texas School Book Depository, where Lumpkin spoke to a policeman controlling traffic at the corner of Houston and Elm streets.​

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At the time of the assassination of President Kennedy and the wounding of Governor Connally, Crichton was attending the annual luncheon held that year at the Adolphus Hotel on Commerce Street in Dallas on the Friday before [[Thanksgiving Day]] to honor the TAMU and [[University of Texas]] football teams, who meet on the gridiron annually on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Crichton recalls:​

At the time of the assassination of President Kennedy and the wounding of Governor Connally, Crichton was attending the annual luncheon held that year at the Adolphus Hotel on Commerce Street in Dallas on the Friday before [[Thanksgiving Day]] to honor the TAMU and [[University of Texas]] football teams, who meet on the gridiron annually on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Crichton recalls:​

"I walked over to Elm Street to see the Kennedy delegation. . . . President Kennedy and [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jackie]] made a handsome couple. She was resplendent in her pink dress and pink pillbox hat. The crowds on the sidewalks applauded, and waved as they drove by. . . . I entered the hotel . . . The room was almost filled, and people were seated at the individual tables. . . . We had the invocation, and many guests began to eat their lunch. Suddenly we heard sirens screaming and someone from outside ran up to the head table and excitedly said, 'The President, Vice President, and Governor Connally have all been shot.' I stood and announced the news. There was stunned silence in the room. Someone then produced a radio, and the news confirmed that the President had been shot.. . . "<ref>Jack Crichton, ''The Republican-Democrat Political Campaigns in Texas in 1964,'' self-published, 2004, pp. 7-8, ISBN 1-4184-2574-5 (paperback).</ref>​

"I walked over to Elm Street to see the Kennedy delegation. . . . President Kennedy and [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jackie]] made a handsome couple. She was resplendent in her pink dress and pink pillbox hat. The crowds on the sidewalks applauded, and waved as they drove by. . . . I entered the hotel . . . The room was almost filled, and people were seated at the individual tables. . . . We had the invocation, and many guests began to eat their lunch. Suddenly we heard sirens screaming and someone from outside ran up to the head table and excitedly said, 'The President, Vice President, and Governor Connally have all been shot.' I stood and announced the news. There was stunned silence in the room. Someone then produced a radio, and the news confirmed that the President had been shot.. . . "<ref>Jack Crichton, ''The Republican-Democrat Political Campaigns in Texas in 1964,'' self-published, 2004, pp. 7-8, ISBN 1-4184-2574-5 (paperback).</ref>​

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==Gubernatorial race==​

==Gubernatorial race==

 

In making his race for governor, Crichton had to resign as president of the Association of Former Students of Texas A&M, a position to which he had just been elected. A classmate from [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] named John Lindsey moved up from vice president to head the organization.<ref>Crichton, p. 16.</ref> Instead, he served in the post in 1967 Crichton tapped a neighbor, Hughes Brown, as his campaign manager. Brown told Crichton that the assassination in Dallas meant an "uphill battle, but you will have a chance to advance the cause of the Republican Party in Texas, and in politics anything can happen."<ref>Crichton, p. 15.</ref> Prior to the assassination, a poll had showed John F. Kennedy trailing in a trial heat in Texas for the 1964 general election.<ref>Crichton, p. 44.</ref>  ​

In making his race for governor, Crichton had to resign as president of the Association of Former Students of Texas A&M, a position to which he had just been elected. A classmate from [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] named John Lindsey moved up from vice president to head the organization.<ref>Crichton, p. 16.</ref> Instead, he served in the post in 1967 Crichton tapped a neighbor, Hughes Brown, as his campaign manager. Brown told Crichton that the assassination in Dallas meant an "uphill battle, but you will have a chance to advance the cause of the Republican Party in Texas, and in politics anything can happen."<ref>Crichton, p. 15.</ref> Prior to the assassination, a poll had showed John F. Kennedy trailing in a trial heat in Texas for the 1964 general election.<ref>Crichton, p. 44.</ref>  ​

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Crichton's papers are deposited at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station. He had first been invited to turn over his files to [[Baylor University]] in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]] but decided Texas A&M would be the more appropriate venue, considering his past ties to the university and to George H. W. Bush.​

Crichton's papers are deposited at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station. He had first been invited to turn over his files to [[Baylor University]] in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]] but decided Texas A&M would be the more appropriate venue, considering his past ties to the university and to George H. W. Bush.​

 

==References==​

==References==

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{{reflist}}​

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