John Henry Kyl
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- This page is about the 20th-century Iowa Congressman; for the 19th-century Mississippi Congressman, see John Kyle; for the current Arizona Senator, see Jon Kyl.
John Henry Kyl (May 9, 1919–December 23, 2002), was an Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa. He was the father of Jon Kyl, a Senator from Arizona.
Kyl was born in Wisner, Nebraska and graduated from Nebraska State Teachers College and the University of Nebraska. He was a teacher at Nebraska State Teachers College from 1940 to 1950. In the 1950s he moved to Bloomfield, Iowa where he joined his brother George in the clothing business. He also worked as a television journalist for KTVO, in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Kyl ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1958, losing to Democrat Steven V. Carter. However, Carter passed away on November 4, 1959 after less than one year in office. Kyl then won a special election to fill the vacancy. He continued to serve as the Representative from Iowa's 4th congressional district for two additional terms, but was defeated in the Democratic landslide in 1964. He recaptured his former seat in 1966, and then won re-election in 1968 and 1970. However, he was defeated again in 1972, after reapportionment left Kyl and another incumbent, Neal Smith, in the same district.
He was assistant secretary for congressional and legislative affairs in the Department of the Interior from 1973 to 1977.
He was husband to Arlene Kyl.
He died of Diabetes.
