Homer LaKirby Leonard

Full Name: Homer LaKirby Leonard
Date of birth: January 14, 1899
Date of death: February 14, 1979

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information
Legislation

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
H	73	Jan 9, 1945 - Jan 14, 1947	49th	Democrat	McAllen / Hidalgo		Hidalgo
H	73	Jan 12, 1943 - Jan 9, 1945	48th	Democrat	McAllen / Hidalgo		Hidalgo
H	73	Jan 14, 1941 - Jan 12, 1943	47th	Democrat	McAllen / Hidalgo	Speaker	Hidalgo
H	73	Jan 10, 1939 - Jan 14, 1941	46th	Democrat	McAllen / Hidalgo		Hidalgo
H	73	Jan 12, 1937 - Jan 10, 1939	45th ⁽¹⁾	Unaffiliated	McAllen / Hidalgo		Hidalgo
H	73	Jan 8, 1935 - Jan 12, 1937	44th ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾	Unaffiliated	McAllen / Hidalgo		Hidalgo
H	73	Jan 10, 1933 - Jan 8, 1935	43rd ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾	Unaffiliated	McAllen / Hidalgo		Hidalgo
H	73	Jan 13, 1931 - Jan 10, 1933	42nd ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾ ⁽¹¹⁾ ⁽¹²⁾	Good Government	McAllen / Hidalgo		Hidalgo

(1) Independent. Republicans and Other Non-Democrats in the Texas Legislature.
(2) File on Legislature - Members, Political Affiliation - "Political composition of the Legislature for selected years other than Democrat." Shows Leonard was Independent in 44th and 45th Legislatures, but this cannot be confirmed in LRL sources. Memo File.
(3) Independent. Republicans and Other Non-Democrats in the Texas Legislature.
(4) "Rep. H.L. Leonard, good government nominee of McAllen, has as his opponent John Ewing, of Donna, as the democratic nominee." "85 New Members Nominated for Lower House; Nine New Senators," 9/9/1932, p. 3. Big Spring Herald.
(5) Independent. Republicans and Other Non-Democrats in the Texas Legislature.
(6) "Amendments Rejected by Texas: Full Democratic Ticket is Elected in Lone Star State," 11/7/1934, pp. 1-A, 9-A. "The state's only non-Democratic member of the legislature, Bodo Holekamp of Boerne, was defeated . . . Holekamp was an independent." San Antonio Light.
(7) Independent/Good Government League - Local Independent. Texas Legislative Manual.
(8) Memorial, May 1979, p. 457. In 1930 Mr. Leonard won election to the Texas House of Representatives from Hidalgo County as a write-in candidate of the Good Government Party. Texas Bar Journal.
(9) HIDALGO COUNTY. Describes boss rule in South Texas and the efforts of the Good Government League to oust the Democratic machine headed by John Closner. Handbook of Texas Online.
(10) "[Leonard] conducted a write-in campaign at the last general electon after the supreme court ruled his party had no standing in nominating candidates for district offices," 10/4/1933, p. 8. Lubbock Morning Avalanche.
(11) Elected to House in 1930 as candidate of Good Government League. Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2016, 2016.
(12) Democrat. Texas Legislative Manual.

Terms of Service top

House District 73
Jan 9, 1945 - Jan 14, 1947
Legislatures: 49th
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: McAllen / Hidalgo
Counties in district: Hidalgo

House District 73
Jan 12, 1943 - Jan 9, 1945
Legislatures: 48th
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: McAllen / Hidalgo
Counties in district: Hidalgo

House District 73
Jan 14, 1941 - Jan 12, 1943
Legislatures: 47th
Speaker
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: McAllen / Hidalgo
Counties in district: Hidalgo

House District 73
Jan 10, 1939 - Jan 14, 1941
Legislatures: 46th
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: McAllen / Hidalgo
Counties in district: Hidalgo

House District 73
Jan 12, 1937 - Jan 10, 1939
Legislatures: 45th ⁽¹⁾
Party: Unaffiliated
Home City/County: McAllen / Hidalgo
Counties in district: Hidalgo

House District 73
Jan 8, 1935 - Jan 12, 1937
Legislatures: 44th ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾
Party: Unaffiliated
Home City/County: McAllen / Hidalgo
Counties in district: Hidalgo

House District 73
Jan 10, 1933 - Jan 8, 1935
Legislatures: 43rd ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾
Party: Unaffiliated
Home City/County: McAllen / Hidalgo
Counties in district: Hidalgo

House District 73
Jan 13, 1931 - Jan 10, 1933
Legislatures: 42nd ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾ ⁽¹¹⁾ ⁽¹²⁾
Party: Good Government
Home City/County: McAllen / Hidalgo
Counties in district: Hidalgo

Biographical Information top

Selected newspaper articles

Resolutions and Journal entries

65th Legislature, R.S., HSR 80. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
66th Legislature, R.S., HCR 66. Resolutions - Memorial.

Biographical Sketches

56th Speaker of the House of Representatives: Homer L. Leonard. Photo and biographical sketch. Birth date 1/14/1899, in Licking, Missouri; grew up in Rolla, Missouri. Death date 2/13/1979. Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2016, 2016.
Memorial, May 1979, p. 457. Texas Bar Journal.
Homer LaKirby Leonard. Death date 2/14/1979. Texas State Cemetery.

Military Service Notes

Homer La Kirby Leonard, birth date 1/14/1899 in Texas County, Missouri; residence in McAllen, Hidalgo County, Texas; mailing address Speaker's Office, House of Rep., Austin, Texas; draft registration 2/16/1942 in Hidalgo County. FamilySearch Texas World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947.
Private, Section A, Student Army Training Corps. Homer La Kirby Leonard, residence in Rolla, Missouri; birth date 1/14/1899. FamilySearch United States Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940, 1985.
Homer La Kirby Leonard, birth date 1/14/1899; permanent home address in Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri; drug clerk; nearest relative Edward Lafayette Leonard; draft registration in Phelps County, Missouri. FamilySearch United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

Other Resources

Mentioned in "Speaker's Office Now a Prize Plum," 9/15/1980. Dallas Morning News.
Homer La Kirby Leonard, death date 2/14/1979 in Travis County. FamilySearch Texas Death Index, 1964-1998.
Helen Keller at a Joint Session of the Legislature, 4/8/1941. Left to right: Speaker of the House Homer Leonard, Governor W. Lee O'Daniel, Helen Keller, and Keller's assistant Polly Thompson. Neal Douglass Photography Collection, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library. Representative Dan Dove is in the far back behind Governor O'Daniel. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).

Photographs

Photograph. Homer L. Leonard, 49th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Homer L. Leonard, 48th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Homer Leonard, 47th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Homer L. Leonard, 46th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Homer Leonard, 45th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Homer L. Leonard, 44th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Homer L. Leonard, 43rd Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. H.L. Leonard, 42nd Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Homer L. Leonard, Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2006

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

42nd session composite photo of House members (3rd floor back hall, east wall. 3W.C1). State Preservation Board.
43rd session composite photo of House members (3rd floor back hall, east wall. 3W.C1). State Preservation Board.
44th session composite photo of House members (3rd floor back hall, east wall. 3W.C1). State Preservation Board.
45th session composite photo of House members (3rd floor back hall, west wall. 3W.C1). State Preservation Board.
46th session composite photo of House members (3rd floor back hall, west wall. 3W.C1). State Preservation Board.
47th session composite photo of House members (3rd floor back hall, west wall. 3W.C1). State Preservation Board.
48th session composite photo of House members (3rd floor back hall, west wall. 3W.C1). State Preservation Board.
49th session composite photo of House members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GW.C1). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

46th R.S. - 1939 Conservation and Reclamation Highways and Motor Traffic Insurance Privileges, Suffrage and Elections Revenue and Taxation (Chair) Social Security Program Financing, Special Voting Machine for the House, Special
45th R.S. - 1937 Appropriations Conservation and Reclamation Insurance Privileges, Suffrage and Elections
44th R.S. - 1935 Appropriations (Chair) Congressional and Legislative Districts Conservation and Reclamation House Bill 8 Irregularities, Special Insurance Privileges, Suffrage, and Elections
43rd R.S. - 1933 Conservation and Reclamation Insurance Privileges, Suffrage and Elections (Chair) State Eleemosynary and Reformatory Institutions
42nd R.S. - 1931 Agriculture Conservation and Reclamation Judicial Districts Public Printing

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