John M. Houston

John Mills Houston (September 15, 1890 – April 29, 1975) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from the 5th congressional district of Kansas from 1935 to 1943. He was also a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 1943 to 1953, originally appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

John Houston was born to Samuel J. and Sarah H. (Nieves) Houston on a farm near the small town of Formoso in Jewell County, Kansas, in September 1890. His father was a wealthy businessman who owned a lumber yard. He attended public school in Wichita, Kansas, from the first to fifth grade. He then entered St. John's Military School in Salina, Kansas, graduating in 1905 after two years. He graduated Fairmount College (now known as Wichita State University) in Wichita, Kansas, in 1906, having focused on business administration.

From 1906 to 1912, he worked a series of odd jobs, but then became an actor on the theatrical stage with the Harry Frazee company. He was with the Frazee troupe from 1912 to 1917. At the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and was one of 19 men selected to act as President Woodrow Wilson's honor guard. He also served as a Marine guard at the State, War and Navy Building in Washington, D.C., and for a few months was the military orderly for United States Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels.

After the war, he returned to Kansas. He was manager of the Houston-Doughty Lumber Co. (the firm his father co-owned) from 1917 to 1935. During his tenure as manager of the firm, he also served a term as president of the Kansas Lumbermen's Association and as a member of the board of directors of the Kansas State Chamber of Commerce. He married Charlotte Stellhorn of St. Louis, Missouri, on May 28, 1919 (some sources say 1920). The couple had two children, Patricia (1922) and Robert (1925). Houston was elected mayor of Newton, Kansas, in 1927, serving two two-year terms. He was elected secretary of the Kansas Democratic State Central Committee in 1934, serving for a year. Houston was also active in the American Legion and in Freemasonry.

Houston was elected to the United States Congress by the voters of Kansas' 5th Congressional District in 1934. The incumbent, William Augustus Ayres, resigned from Congress on August 21, 1934, to accept an appointment to the Federal Trade Commission. Somewhat surprisingly, Houston easily defeated Republican Ira C. Watson 57 percent to 36.2 percent.

He won re-election two years later with 60 percent of the vote over Republican challenger J.B. Patterson. Houston barely defeated Republican Stanley Taylor in 1938, 43,990 to 43,480. In a rematch in 1940, Houston more handily defeated Taylor by a 5,500-vote margin (58,436 to 52,901).

During his tenure in Congress, Houston was a member of the House Committee on Appropriations.

The 1940 census led to redistricting which pitted Houston against Edward Herbert Rees, the incumbent Republican in Kansas' 4th congressional district. Rees easily defeated Houston, 55,612 to 44,333. Republican Clifford R. Hope, who had once held the 7th congressional district (it had been eliminated due to redistricting) won the new 5th district seat once held by Houston.