Jump to Navigation

Edward Herbert Rees

Politician. Republican. Born: June 3, 1886, Emporia, Kansas. Died: October 25, 1969, Emporia, Kansas. Served in U.S. House of Representatives, 4th District: January 3, 1937, to January 3, 1961.

Ed Rees was born June 3, 1886, on a farm near Emporia and attended the public schools and the Kansas State Teachers College at Emporia. After teaching school in Lyon County from 1909 to 1911, he served six years as clerk of the county court, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1915. Rees was a member of the state house and senate during the 1920s and 1930s before his election to the U.S. Congress in 1936 (served, January 3, 1937-January 3, 1961), where he served for more than a dozen years on the House Post Office and Civil Service Committees.

Rees supported a bill based on an idea by Alvin Kansas of Emporia to honor all veterans on Armistice Day, November 11. As a result, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed HR7786 into law on June 1, 1954. Eisenhower issued the first Veterans Day Proclamation on October 8, 1954, and the first Veteran's Day was celebrated that November.

Described by a House colleague as "an able, dedicated statesman who has shown courage and integrity" after he chose not to seek reelection in 1960, Rees resumed the practice of law in Emporia, where he died on October 25, 1969.

Entry: Rees, Edward Herbert

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: June 2011

Date Modified: December 2017

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.