Barkley, Alben William

Barkley, Alben William (bär'klē) [key], 1877–1956, Vice President of the United States (1949–53), b. Graves co., Ky. After being admitted (1901) to the bar, he served as prosecuting attorney (1905–9) and judge (1909–13) for McCracken co., Ky., and was U.S. Representative (1913–27) and U.S. Senator (1927–49) from Kentucky. A loyal Democrat, he was majority leader in the Senate from 1937 to 1946. He became Vice President under Truman in 1948. In 1954, Kentucky returned him to the Senate.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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