Henry B. Gonzalez

Paper Summary:

Henry B. Gonzalez held three major distinctions during his lifetime. He was the first Mexican American elected to the Texas Senate, in 1956, the first Mexican American to run for governor, in 1958, and the first Mexican American elected from Texas to the United State House of Representatives, in 1961. This paper discusses these achievements.

From the Paper:

"The son of Mexican immigrants, Gonzalez was born in 1916 in San Antonio, Texas. His family had settled there after fleeing Mexico during the Mexican revolution of 1911. His father, Leonides, who had been mayor of Mapimi, Mexico, became managing editor of "La Prensa," a position he held for forty years. Henry was eight years old when he began learning English by reading the works of Thomas Carlyle and Robert L. Stevenson, and by the age of ten, while still in grade school, he entered the work force. In 1937, he graduated from San Antonio Junior College, and while serving in Naval Intelligence during World War II, he earned his LL.B. from St. Mary's University Law School in 1943. From 1947 to 1951, he assisted his father with a translation service, serving as a language and business consultant. "

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