Dale Alford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas Dale Alford, (28 January 1916 - 25 January 2000) was an American politician from the State of Arkansas and a member of the United States House of Representatives.

In 1916, Alford was born in New Hope in Pike County, Arkansas. He attended public schools at Rector in Clay County, Arkansas.

Alford attended Arkansas State College, the Arkansas State Teachers College, and received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences at Little Rock in 1939. He received some post-graduate training at the University of Illinois.

Alford was an ophthalmologist by trade and served in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1940 to 1946 during World War II. After the war he served as an assistant professor at Emory University College of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia in 1947 and 1948.

Returning to Arkansas he joined the teaching faculty at the University of Arkansas Medical School at Little Rock and remained there from 1948-1958. From 1955 to 1958 he served on the Little Rock School board during the segregation crisis.

Alford was elected to the US House of Representatives in a controversial election that took place during the Little Rock Crisis of 1958 becoming only the second write-in candidate to ever be elected to Congress. Alford jumped into the election against incumbent representative Brooks Hays after Hays endorsed the integration af Little Rock Central High School during the segregation crisis. Alford supporters had thousands of stickers made up with Alford's name printed on them and handed them out in front of polling places. Hays maintained a lead during the counting until an extra 20 ballot boxes arrived bearing ballots with the Alford stickers. He was re-elected in 1960.

Alford's district was redrawn after the 1960 census, and did not run for re-election in 1962 and instead chose to run against Governor Orval Faubus. Faubus successfully beat back a challenge by Alford in 1962 and again in 1966. Alford served as a delegate to the 1960 Democratic National Convention.

In 2000, Alford died of congestive heart failure in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is buried at historic Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock.

Adapted from the article Dale Alford, from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Preceded by: Brooks Hays	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 5th congressional district 1959-1963	Succeeded by: district eliminated