Thomas Ponce GILL, Congress, HI (1922-2009)

GILL, Thomas Ponce, a Representative from Hawaii; born in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 21, 1922; attended the public schools and graduated from the Roosevelt High School in 1940; attended the University of Hawaii in 1940 and 1941; served in the Hawaii Territorial Guard from December 1941 to October 1942; volunteered for service in the Twenty-fourth Infantry Division in November 1942, fought in New Guinea and in the Philippines and was discharged in November 1945; awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart; graduated from the University of California in 1948 and from the University of California Law School in 1951; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Honolulu the same year; Democratic campaign chairman of Oahu County in 1952 and 1954; chairman of Oahu County Democratic Committee, 1954-1958; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1960; attorney for the Hawaiian senate in the 1955 regular session; administrative assistant to the speaker of the Hawaiian house of representatives in the 1957 regular and special sessions; member of the Thirtieth Territorial Session from the Fifteenth District; member of the first State legislature and served as majority floor leader, 1959-1962; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-eighth Congress (January 3, 1963-January 3, 1965); was not a candidate for renomination in 1964 but was an unsuccessful candidate for election as United States Senator; director, Hawaii Office of Economic Opportunity, 1965-1966; Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, 1966-1970; died on June 3, 2009, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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