# Ralph Rivers

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American politician (1903–1976)

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Ralph Rivers Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alaska's at-large district In office January 3, 1959 – December 30, 1966 Preceded by Bob Bartlett (Delegate) Himself (Shadow Representative) Succeeded by Howard Pollock Shadow Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Alaska Territory's at-large district In office October 6, 1956 – January 3, 1959 Preceded by Seat established Succeeded by Himself (Representative) Mayor of Fairbanks In office 1952–1954 Preceded by Robert Hoopes Succeeded by Douglas Preston Attorney General of the Alaska Territory In office 1945–1949 Governor Ernest Gruening Preceded by Henry Roden Succeeded by Gerald Williams United States Attorney for the Fourth Division of Alaska Territory In office 1933–1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt Preceded by Julien Hurley[1] Succeeded by Harry Arend Personal details Born Ralph Julian Rivers (1903-05-23)May 23, 1903 Seattle, Washington, U.S. Died August 13, 1976(1976-08-13) (aged 73) Chehalis, Washington, U.S. Party Democratic Education University of Washington, Seattle (LLB)

**Ralph Julian Rivers** (May 23, 1903 – August 13, 1976) was an American lawyer and [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) politician who served as the first [United States representative](/source/United_States_representative) from [Alaska](/source/Alaska), serving from statehood in 1959 to his resignation in 1966 following his defeat by Republican [Howard W. Pollock](/source/Howard_Pollock).[2] He previously served as the [shadow U.S. Representative](/source/Shadow_congressperson) from [Alaska Territory](/source/Alaska_Territory) from 1956 to 1959.

## Biography

Born in [Seattle, Washington](/source/Seattle%2C_Washington) to Louisa Zenaide (née Lavoy) and Julian Guy Rivers,[3] Rivers attended grammar school in [Flat, Alaska](/source/Flat%2C_Alaska), and [Franklin High School](/source/Benjamin_Franklin_High_School_(Seattle)) in Seattle. He worked as a [gold](/source/Gold) [miner](/source/Mining) in Flat from 1921 to 1923, and then earned an [LL.B.](/source/LL.B.) from the [University of Washington School of Law](/source/University_of_Washington_School_of_Law) in 1929. He then worked as a lawyer in private practice for several years.

Rivers, at bottom left, celebrating Alaska becoming a state on January 3, 1959. Behind Rivers is [Bob Atwood](/source/Bob_Atwood). To his left are [Fred Seaton](/source/Fred_Seaton), [Ernest Gruening](/source/Ernest_Gruening), [Bob Bartlett](/source/Bob_Bartlett), [Mike Stepovich](/source/Mike_Stepovich) and [Waino Hendrickson](/source/Waino_Hendrickson).

Rivers was a lifelong civil servant, working in a number of public positions throughout his life. He served as [United States Attorney](/source/United_States_Attorney) for District of Alaska, from 1933 to 1944.[4] He was then elected as the [attorney general of Alaska](/source/Alaska_Attorney_General), serving from 1945 to 1949.[5] He was the chair of the [Employment Security Commission of Alaska](/source/Alaska_Department_of_Labor_and_Workforce_Development) from 1950 to 1952, and then became the [mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska](/source/Mayor_of_Fairbanks%2C_Alaska) from 1952 to 1954. In 1954 he was also president of the League of Alaskan Cities. He was a member of the [Alaska Territorial Senate](/source/Alaska_Senate) in 1955, and was the second vice president of the [Alaska Constitutional Convention](/source/Alaska_Constitutional_Convention) at [College, Alaska](/source/College%2C_Alaska) in 1955 and 1956. He was a delegate to the [Democratic National Conventions](/source/Democratic_National_Conventions) in 1960, 1964, and 1968.

Rivers appeared on the game show *[To Tell the Truth](/source/To_Tell_the_Truth)* as contestant #1 in the second group of contestants on June 2, 1959.[6] Rivers died at his home in [Chehalis, Washington](/source/Chehalis%2C_Washington) on the morning of August 13, 1976.[7]

## U.S. House of Representatives

In 1957 and 1958, Rivers was a [United States representative-elect](/source/U.S._House_of_Representatives) under the [Alaska-Tennessee Plan](/source/Alaska_Statehood_Act#The_Tennessee_Plan) in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), on a provisional basis, pending statehood. Upon the admission of Alaska as a State into the Union, he was elected as a [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) to the Eighty-sixth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1959 until December 30, 1966.[8] He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninetieth Congress in 1966, resigning days before the end of his term.

While in Congress, he voted in favor of the [Civil Rights Act of 1960](/source/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1960)[9] and the [Civil Rights Act of 1964](/source/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964).[10] He voted as well for the [24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution](/source/Twenty-fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) and the [Voting Rights Act of 1965](/source/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965).[11][12]

## Electoral history

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (June 2014)

Alaska's at-large congressional district: Results 1958–1966[13]

Year Republican Votes Pct Democrat Votes Pct 1958 Henry A. Benson 20,699 42.5% Ralph J. Rivers 27,948 57.5% 1960 R. L. Rettig 25,517 43.2% Ralph J. Rivers (inc.) 33,546 56.8% 1962 Lowell Thomas, Jr. 26,638 44% Ralph J. Rivers (inc.) 33,953 56% 1964 Lowell Thomas, Jr. 32,556 48.5% Ralph J. Rivers (inc.) 34,590 51.5% 1966 Howard W. Pollock 34,040 51.6% Ralph J. Rivers (inc.) 31,867 48.4%

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Political Graveyard: U.S. District Attorneys in Alaska"](http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/AK/ofc/usatty.html).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Biographical Guide to Members of Congress"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000282). U.S. Congress. Retrieved April 21, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Washington Birth Records, 1869-1950"](https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRM7-KRB), *[FamilySearch](/source/FamilySearch)*, retrieved April 6, 2018

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["District of Alaska"](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak/about_us). *U.S. Department of Justice*. Office of the United States Attorneys. 29 January 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Creating Alaska-entry for Ralph Rivers"](http://www.alaska.edu/creatingalaska/whos-who/alaskans/statehood-committee/rivers/). University of Alaska. Retrieved April 21, 2017.[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["To Tell the Truth - Collegiate grandmother; First Alaskan in House of Representatives"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vySPLujfYUI). YouTube. June 2, 1959. [Archived](https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/vySPLujfYUI) from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved April 21, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Obituaries - Ralph Rivers"](https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-daily-chronicle/1976/08-13/page-13). *The Daily Chronicle*. August 13, 1976. p. 12. Retrieved September 5, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Warren, Kenneth F., ed. (2008). ["Alaska"](https://books.google.com/books?id=lCh1AwAAQBAJ&q=Ralph+Julian+Rivers&pg=PA28). *Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. p. 28. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1452265872](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1452265872). Retrieved April 21, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["HR 8601. PASSAGE"](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/h102).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["H.R. 7152. PASSAGE"](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/h128).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS"](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/87-1962/h193). *GovTrack.us*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT"](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/h87).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-clerkresults_13-0)** ["Election Statistics"](http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html). Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-10-24.

- United States Congress. ["Ralph Rivers (id: R000282)"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000282). *[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress](/source/Biographical_Directory_of_the_United_States_Congress)*.

## External links

- [Alaska portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Alaska)
- [Biography portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Biography)
- [Law portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Law)
- [Politics portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Politics)

- [Ralph Rivers](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6882091) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave)

- [Ralph Rivers](http://100years.akleg.gov/bio.php?id=1408) at *100 Years of Alaska's Legislature*

U.S. House of Representatives New seat Shadow Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Alaska Territory's at-large district 1956–1959 Succeeded by Himself as U.S. Representative Preceded by Bob Bartlett as Delegate Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alaska's at-large congressional district 1959–1966 Succeeded by Howard Pollock Preceded by Himself as Shadow Representative

v t e United States representatives from Alaska Non-voting delegates, elected at-large (1905–59) Waskey Cale Wickersham Sulzer Wickersham Sulzer Grigsby Wickersham Sutherland Wickersham Dimond Bartlett U.S. representatives, elected at-large (1959–present) Rivers Pollock Begich (I) Young Peltola Begich (II)

v t e Attorneys general of Alaska Territorial (1916–59) Grigsby Murphy Rustgard Truitt Roden Rivers Williams State (since 1959) Rader Moody Hayes Colver Burr Boyko Edwards Havelock Gorsuch Gross Condon Gorsuch Brown Schaible Baily Cole Botelho Renkes Márquez Colberg Sullivan Burns Geraghty Richards Lindemuth Clarkson Sniffen (acting) Taylor Cox (acting) Mills (acting)

v t e Signers of the Constitution of Alaska Armstrong Barr Boswell Buckalew Coghill Collins Cooper Cross Davis Doogan Egan Emberg H. Fischer V. Fischer Gray Haaland Harris Hellenthal Hermann Hilscher Hinckel Hurley Johnson Kilcher King Knight Laws Lee Londborg Marston McCutcheon McLaughlin McNealy McNees Metcalf Nerland Nordale Peratrovich Poulson Reader Riley R. Rivers V. Rivers Robertson Rosswog Smith Stewart Sundborg Sweeney Taylor VanderLeest Walsh White Wien See also: Alaska Statehood Act

v t e Alaska's delegation(s) to the 86th–89th United States Congresses (ordered by seniority) 86th Senate: ▌E. Gruening (D) ▌B. Bartlett (D) House: ▌R. Rivers (D) 87th Senate: ▌E. Gruening (D) ▌B. Bartlett (D) House: ▌R. Rivers (D) 88th Senate: ▌E. Gruening (D) ▌B. Bartlett (D) House: ▌R. Rivers (D) 89th Senate: ▌E. Gruening (D) ▌B. Bartlett (D) House: ▌R. Rivers (D)

Authority control databases International VIAF FAST WorldCat National United States People US Congress Other NARA SNAC Yale LUX

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