Kenneth A. Roberts
Kenneth Allison Roberts was an American lawyer, World War II veteran and politician who served seven terms as a U.S. Representative from Alabama from 1951 to 1965.
Biography
Born in Piedmont, Alabama, Roberts attended the public schools and Howard College, Birmingham, Alabama. He was graduated from the University of [Alabama Law School] in 1935 and Admission to [the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar] in 1936. He practiced law in Anniston, Alabama and in Talladega.World War II
Roberts was elected to the Alabama State Senate in 1942 and resigned the same year to enter the United States Navy. He served in both Atlantic and Pacific Theaters until discharged as a lieutenant in 1945.Early career
He was president of Piedmont Development Co. from 1945 to 1950. From 1948 to 1950 he served as member of Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs and city attorney of Piedmont, Alabama.Congress
Roberts was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-second and to the six succeeding Congresses. He was wounded in the 1954 [United States Capitol shooting]. Having been a signatory to the 1956 Southern Manifesto that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education, he voted against H.R. 6127, Civil Rights Act of 1957. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1964 to the Eighty-ninth Congress.Roberts led the establishment of federal safety legislation through the House of Representatives subcommittee on traffic safety which was formed in 1956.
In 1963 he introduced the U.S. Clean Air Act.