Henry Louis BELLMON, Congress, OK (1921-2009)

BELLMON, Henry Louis, a Senator from Oklahoma; born on a farm near Tonkawa, Kay County, Okla., September 3, 1921; educated in Noble County public schools; graduated Oklahoma State University (then Oklahoma A.&M. College) 1942; served in United States Marine Corps 1942-1946; farmer and rancher; served in Oklahoma house of representatives 1946-1948; State Republican chairman 1960; elected Oklahoma’s first Republican Governor in 1962, served 1963-1967; while in office, chairman, Interstate Oil Compact Commission, and member, executive committee, National Governors Conference; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1968; reelected in 1974 and served from January 3, 1969, to January 3, 1981; was not a candidate for reelection in 1980; co-founder and co-chairman of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; appointed director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services 1983; elected Governor of Oklahoma 1986; was a resident of Red Rock, Okla., until his death on September 29, 2009; interment in Union Cemetery, Billings, Okla.

Bibliography

Bellmon, Henry, with Pat Bellmon. The Life and Times of Henry Bellmon. Tulsa: Council Oak Books, 1992.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present