{{short description|American politician}} {{other people|Richard Simpson}} {{use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{infobox officeholder | name = Richard M. Simpson | image = Richard Murray Simpson.jpg | image_size = | caption = Simpson, {{circa|1957}} | office = Member of the<br>[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Pennsylvania]] | term_start = May 11, 1937 | term_end = January 7, 1960 | predecessor = [[Benjamin K. Focht]] | successor = [[Douglas Hemphill Elliott]] | constituency = {{ushr|PA|18|18th district}} (1937–1945)<br>{{ushr|PA|17|17th district}} (1945–1953)<br>{{ushr|PA|18|18th district}} (1953–1960) | office1 = Member of the<br>[[Pennsylvania House of Representatives]] | term_start1 = 1935 | term_end1 = 1937 | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1900|8|30}} | birth_place = [[Huntingdon, Pennsylvania]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1960|1|7|1900|8|30}} | death_place = [[Bethesda, Maryland]], U.S. | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | father = Warren Brown Simpson | mother = Sue | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Grace Metz|1928|1945|end=died}} * {{marriage|Mae J. Cox|1948}} }} | children = 3 | relatives = | alma_mater = [[University of Pittsburgh]] (BA)<br>[[Georgetown Law School]] (JD) | occupation = {{Hlist|Insurance agent|politician}} | allegiance = United States | branch = [[United States Army]] | branch_label = Branch | service_years = | rank = private | battles = [[World War I]] | battles_label = Conflict }} '''Richard Murray Simpson''' (August 30, 1900 – January 7, 1960) was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] from [[Pennsylvania]].

==Biography== Richard Simpson was born in [[Huntingdon, Pennsylvania]], the son of Warren Brown and Sue Simpson. During the [[First World War]], Simpson served as a private in the 301st Company, [[Tank Corps (United States)|Tank Corps]]. His father and uncle constructed [[Raystown Lake]], the largest lake entirely within Pennsylvania. He married Grace Metz in 1928, with whom had two daughters, Susan and Barbara. On her death in 1945, Simpson married Mae Cox in 1948; they had one daughter, Kay. He graduated from the [[University of Pittsburgh]], in 1923, and from [[Georgetown Law School]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], in 1942. He was engaged in the insurance business from 1923 to 1937. He served in the [[Pennsylvania State House of Representatives]] from 1935 to 1937.<ref name=death>{{cite news|title=Rep. Simpson Dies at Naval Hospital|work=Simpson's Leader-Times|date=1960-01-07}} [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91540518/simpsons-leader-times/ p.1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91541428/simpsons-leader-times/ p.2]</ref>

Simpson was elected as a Republican to the [[75th United States Congress]] to fill the vacancy caused by the death of [[Benjamin K. Focht]]. He was re-elected to the [[76th United States Congress|Seventy-sixth]] and to the ten succeeding Congresses and served until his death in 1960. Simpson voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42|title=HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref>

In 1953, he became chair of the [[National Republican Congressional Committee]]. He had previously served as vice chairman of the [[House Republican Conference]] and secretary of the [[House Republican Policy Committee]]. At the time of his death, he was the ranking member of the powerful [[United States House Committee on Ways and Means|Ways and Means Committee]].<ref name=death/>

He died on January 7, 1960, at [[Bethesda Naval Medical Center]], several weeks after undergoing brain surgery.<ref name=death/>

==See also== * [[List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1950–1999)]]

==References== {{Reflist}} {{CongBio|S000436}} Retrieved on 2008-01-26

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Richard M.}} [[Category:1900 births]] [[Category:1960 deaths]] [[Category:Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives]] [[Category:University of Pittsburgh alumni]] [[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]] [[Category:Military personnel from Pennsylvania]] [[Category:People from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni]] [[Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Pennsylvania]] [[Category:20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]