Lyle Boren

Lyle Hagler Boren (May 11, 1909 – July 2, 1992) was a U.S. Democratic Party politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma, serving from 1937 to 1947 and was defeated for renomination in the 1946 election. He was known for his independence in the party, opposing labor union strikes on defense plants and attempts to expand the federal government. Boren attracted national attention for his criticism of The Grapes of Wrath. He was active in state politics long after leaving Congress and is the father of former U.S. Senator and Oklahoma Governor David Boren, and grandfather of former U.S. Congressman Dan Boren, who represented Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district from 2005 to 2013. Early life and career Boren was born near Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Nannie May (née Weatherall) and Mark Latimer Boren, and moved to Lawton, Oklahoma in 1917, where he attended public schools. He finished high school in Choctaw, Oklahoma graduating from Choctaw High School, where the activities center used to bear his name. It was, however, renamed in 2021. His sister was the "Heartbreak Hotel" songwriter Mae Axton. Boren was graduated from East Central College at Ada, Oklahoma, in 1930. From 1930 to 1935, he was a school teacher in Wolf, Oklahoma, and later served as a deputy procurement officer for the United States Department of the Treasury. Furthermore, he was involved in agricultural and mercantile business interests. He married the former Christine McKown, an Oklahoma State University graduate and public school teacher, in 1936, and had two children, David Boren and Susan Boren Dorman, and two grandchildren including Dan Boren. Political career Boren was first elected to Congress in November 1936 as a Democrat, at the age of 26, and was the youngest person to serve in the House since Henry Clay. He was continuously re-elected until 1946 when he lost the Democratic primary election to 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.