Ray Thornton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ray Thornton | |
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| In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Tommy F. Robinson |
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| Succeeded by | Vic Snyder |
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| In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1979 |
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| Preceded by | David Pryor |
| Succeeded by | Beryl Anthony, Jr. |
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| Born | July 16, 1928 Conway, Arkansas |
| Political party | Democratic |
Raymond Hoyt "Ray" Thornton, Jr. (born July 16, 1928, in Conway, Arkansas) is a former U.S. Representative from the U.S. state of Arkansas.
Thornton earned a degree in political science from Yale University and, later, a law degree from the University of Arkansas. He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, earning the rank of lieutenant.
Thornton returned to law school after returning from Korea; obtaining his law degree in 1956. After election as Arkansas Attorney General in 1970, he was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1972. He defeated fellow Democrat Richard S. Arnold of Texarkana in the primary. Thornton went on to serve three terms in the House. He served as a member of the Judiciary Committee considering Articles of Impeachment against President Richard Nixon, and was included in the group of three southern Democrats and four moderate Republicans who drafted the articles adopted by the Committee.
Thornton did not run for a fourth term in the House. Instead, he ran for the Senate but narrowly lost in the Democratic primary to David Pryor. Pryor then defeated a liberal Republican, William T. Kelly, in the general election.
After his defeat in the Senate race, Thornton became involved in education, serving as the president of Arkansas State University and then the University of Arkansas from 1984 to 1990. In 1991, Thornton ran for Congress in another district. His former popularity had not faded, and he easily beat his opponent. He left Congress after another three terms, retiring in 1997.
Thornton served as a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1997 to 2005. After retiring from the court, he became the first public service fellow for the William Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.
[edit] See also
- U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton — in 1995, this case overturned term limits for U.S. Senators and Representatives.
[edit] References
- Image and Reflection: A Pictorial History of the University of Arkansas; Ethel Simpson. U of Ark. Press, 1991
[edit] External links
- Ray Thornton at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-03-31
| Preceded by Joe Purcell |
Attorney General of Arkansas 1971 – 1973 |
Succeeded by Jim Guy Tucker |
| Preceded by David Pryor |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 4th congressional district January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1979 |
Succeeded by Beryl Anthony, Jr. |
| Preceded by Tommy F. Robinson |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 2nd congressional district January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1997 |
Succeeded by Vic Snyder |
