Samuel William YORTY, Congress, CA (1909-1998)

YORTY, Samuel William, a Representative from California; born in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebr., October 1, 1909; attended the public schools of Lincoln, Nebr.; moved to Los Angeles, Calif., in 1927; completed prelegal work and studied law at Southwestern University and La Salle University; also studied at University of Southern California 1946-1950, and extension courses at University of California in 1948; was admitted to the bar in 1939 and commenced the practice of law in Los Angeles, Calif.; member of the State assembly 1936-1940; served as a captain, Combat Intelligence, United States Air Corps, with service in New Guinea and the Philippine Islands 1942-1945; again a member of the State assembly in 1949 and 1950; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-second and Eighty-third Congresses (January 3, 1951-January 3, 1955); was not a candidate for renomination in 1954 but was unsuccessful for election to the United States Senate; unsuccessful for Democratic nomination as United States Senator in 1956; resumed the practice of law; elected mayor of Los Angeles in May 1961 for a four-year term; reelected in 1965 and again in 1969; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1973; returned to the practice of law in Los Angeles; host of a radio and television show; unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination to the United States Senate in 1980; unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Los Angeles in 1981; died in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 5, 1998.

Bibliography

Bollens, John C., and Grant B. Geyer. Yorty: Politics of a Constant Candidate. Pacific Palisades, Calif.: Palisades Publishers, 1973.

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