# Lyle Boren

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{{Short description|American politician (1909–1992)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name        = Lyle Boren
|image       = LyleHBoren.jpg
|state       = [Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma)
|district    = {{ushr|OK|4|4th}}
|term_start  = January 3, 1937
|term_end    = January 3, 1947
|predecessor = [Percy Lee Gassaway](/source/Percy_Lee_Gassaway)
|successor   = [Glen D. Johnson](/source/Glen_D._Johnson)
|birth_name  = Lyle Hagler Boren
|birth_date  = {{birth date|1909|5|11}}
|birth_place = [Waxahachie, Texas](/source/Waxahachie%2C_Texas), U.S.
|death_date  = {{death date and age|1992|7|2|1909|5|11}}
|death_place = [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma_City), U.S.
|party       = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
|spouse      = Christine McKown
|children    = 2, including [David](/source/David_Boren)
|relatives   = [Mae Boren Axton](/source/Mae_Boren_Axton) {{small|(sister)}}<br>[James Boren](/source/James_Boren) {{small|(nephew)}}<br>[Hoyt Axton](/source/Hoyt_Axton) {{small|(nephew)}}<br>[Dan Boren](/source/Dan_Boren) {{small|(grandson)}}
|education   = [East Central University](/source/East_Central_University) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))<br>[Oklahoma State University, Stillwater](/source/Oklahoma_State_University%2C_Stillwater)
}}

'''Lyle Hagler Boren''' (May 11, 1909 – July 2, 1992) was a [U.S.](/source/United_States) [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) politician and a member of the [United States House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) from [Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma), serving from 1937 to 1947 and was defeated for renomination in the [1946 election](/source/1946_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Oklahoma).<ref name="bio">[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000640 Biographical Directory of Congress Profile]</ref> He was known for his independence in the party, opposing labor union strikes on defense plants and attempts to expand the federal government.<ref name="hagler"/>

Boren attracted national attention for his criticism of ''[The Grapes of Wrath](/source/The_Grapes_of_Wrath)''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shockley|first1=Martin|title=The Reception of the Grapes of Wrath in Oklahoma|journal=American Literature|date=January 1944|volume=15|issue=4|page=357|doi=10.2307/2920761|jstor=2920761}}</ref> Calling it “a lie, a black, infernal creation of a twisted, distorted mind" and decrying its author, [John Steinbeck](/source/John_Steinbeck). He was active in state politics long after leaving Congress and was the father of former U.S. Senator and Oklahoma Governor [David Boren](/source/David_Boren), and grandfather of former U.S. Congressman [Dan Boren](/source/Dan_Boren), who represented [Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district](/source/Oklahoma's_2nd_congressional_district) from 2005 to 2013.

==Early life and career==
Boren was born near [Waxahachie, Texas](/source/Waxahachie%2C_Texas), the son of Nannie May (née Weatherall) and Mark Latimer Boren,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/boren.htm |title=1 |access-date=2014-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125170624/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/boren.htm |archive-date=2015-11-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and moved to [Lawton, Oklahoma](/source/Lawton%2C_Oklahoma) in 1917, where he attended public schools.<ref name="bio"/> He finished high school in [Choctaw, Oklahoma](/source/Choctaw%2C_Oklahoma) graduating from Choctaw High School,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oklahomahof.com/member-archives/b/boren-lyle-h-1986 |title= Oklahoma Hall of Fame: Boren, Lyle. H |access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> where the activities center used to bear his name until it was renamed in 2021. His sister was the "[Heartbreak Hotel](/source/Heartbreak_Hotel)" songwriter [Mae Axton](/source/Mae_Boren_Axton). Boren was graduated from [East Central College](/source/East_Central_University) at [Ada, Oklahoma](/source/Ada%2C_Oklahoma), in 1930. From 1930 to 1935, he was a school teacher in [Wolf, Oklahoma](/source/Wolf%2C_Oklahoma), and later served as a deputy procurement officer for the [United States Department of the Treasury](/source/United_States_Department_of_the_Treasury).<ref name="bio"/> Furthermore, he was involved in [agricultural](/source/agriculture) and [mercantile](/source/mercantilism) business interests. He married the former Christine McKown, an [Oklahoma State University](/source/Oklahoma_State_University) graduate and public school teacher, in 1936,<ref name="trails"/> and had two children, [David Boren](/source/David_Boren) and Susan Boren Dorman, and two grandchildren including [Dan Boren](/source/Dan_Boren).<ref name="nytimes.com">[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/03/obituaries/ex-rep-lyle-boren-senator-s-father-82.html "Ex-Rep. Lyle Boren, Senator's Father, 82" (New York Times obituary)]</ref>

==Political career==
Boren was first elected to the [United States Congress](/source/United_States_Congress) in November 1936 as a Democrat, at the age of 26, and was one of the youngest people to ever serve in the House.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> He was continuously re-elected until 1946 when he lost the Democratic primary election to [Glen D. Johnson](/source/Glen_D._Johnson). Following his tenure in Congress, he resumed his business pursuits, except, in 1948, when he attempted to re-enter politics by running unsuccessfully for his former U.S. House seat.

Boren was known as an independent, opposing his party on several occasions.<ref name="hagler">Burke, Bob, "[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/B/BO019.html Boren, Lyle Hagler (1909-1992)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105083521/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/B/BO019.html |date=2009-01-05 }}," ''[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416084151/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia |date=2009-04-16 }}'' (accessed May 18, 2010).</ref> He worked against the growth of the federal government and excessive federal spending.<ref name="hagler"/> He angered labor unions by backing legislation to ban strikes at defense plants, which did hurt him politically.<ref name="hagler"/> Boren's legislative efforts included cancer research, old-age pensions, the [Civil Aeronautics Board](/source/Civil_Aeronautics_Board), newsprint and paper shortages, consumer product labeling, railroad freight rates, and municipal bonds.<ref name="trails"/>

In 1938, Boren told his fellow Congressmen, "The greatest problem in America today is to erase the question in the minds of men, 'What is the government going to do for me?' and replace it with the question, 'What can I do for my country".<ref name="trails">"[https://archive.today/20130124072439/http://genealogytrails.com/oka/oklahoma/boren.html Lyle H. Boren and Christina Boren], [http://genealogytrails.com Genealogytrails.com] (accessed May 19, 2010).</ref>

==Later life and state politics==
After leaving Congress, Boren resumed many of his former mercantile business and agricultural pursuits. In 1957, he became a lobbyist for the railroad industry.<ref name="trails"/> He retired in 1969 and continued ranching in Oklahoma. He was also a spokesman and successful fund-raiser for the [Oklahoma Democratic Party](/source/Oklahoma_Democratic_Party) and worked tirelessly to help Democratic candidates win election to public office. Most notably, Boren assisted his son, [David Boren](/source/David_Boren)'s campaigns for Governor of Oklahoma in [1974](/source/1974_Oklahoma_gubernatorial_election), and U.S. Senate in [1978](/source/1978_United_States_Senate_election_in_Oklahoma).

==Retirement and death==
Boren retired from public life in the mid-1980s due to failing health after approximately 50 years of service, first in Congress and later as an advocate for other candidates. He moved to [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma_City), where he remained until his death on July 2, 1992.<ref name="bio"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lyle Boren}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090105083521/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/B/BO019.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Boren, Lyle]
*[https://arc.ou.edu/repositories/3/resources/52 Lyle H. Boren Collection] and [https://arc.ou.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/536176 Photograph Collection] at the [Carl Albert Center](/source/Carl_Albert_Center)

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[Percy Lee Gassaway](/source/Percy_Lee_Gassaway)}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [U.S. House of Representatives](/source/List_of_United_States_representatives_from_Oklahoma)<br>from [Oklahoma's 4th congressional district](/source/Oklahoma's_4th_congressional_district)|years=1937–1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[Glen D. Johnson](/source/Glen_D._Johnson)}}
{{s-end}}

{{OKRepresentatives}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boren, Lyle}}
Category:1909 births
Category:1992 deaths
Lyle
Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Oklahoma
Category:East Central University alumni
Category:People from Choctaw, Oklahoma
Category:People from Lawton, Oklahoma
Category:People from Seminole County, Oklahoma
Category:People from Waxahachie, Texas
Category:Schoolteachers from Oklahoma
Category:United States Department of the Treasury officials
Category:Methodists from Oklahoma
Category:American United Methodists
Category:20th-century Oklahoma politicians
Category:20th-century Methodists
Category:20th-century United States representatives

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lyle Boren](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyle_Boren) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyle_Boren?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.