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Emmet O'Neal (Kentucky)
Encyclopedia
Emmet O'Neal was a U.S. Representative
from Kentucky
and an ambassador to the Philippines
. A member of the Centre College
Athletic Hall of Fame, his brother was Louisville
Mayor Joseph T. O'Neal
.
in 1907. During his tenure at Centre College he participated in football
, basketball
, baseball
, and tennis
in which he won a championship title. In 1906-07, he led the football, basketball and baseball squad. He kicked one drop kick for 48 yards. O'Neal would be inducted into the Centre College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. O'Neal graduated from Yale University
in 1908, and from the law department of the University of Louisville
in 1910. He was following his father and brothers' footsteps as they were all lawyers.
O'Neal was admitted to the bar
in 1910 and started his law practice in Louisville. During World War I
O'Neal served overseas in the United States Army
. O'Neal was enlisted in the Fifth Field Artillery in the First Division, and as an officer in the One Hundred and Third Field Artillery in the Twenty-sixth Division from 1917-1919. Following the war he resumed the practice of law in Louisville and later was involved in banking.
O'Neal went into politics being elected as a Democrat
to the Seventy-fourth Congress
from Kentucky's 3rd District
and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1935 - January 2, 1947). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1946 to the Eightieth Congress
losing to Thruston Ballard Morton
. The following year he served as an ambassador to the Philippines from September 22, 1947 to April 28, 1948.
After serving as an ambassador O'Neal resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C.
He became active in the Corregidor-Bataan Memorial Commission and would eventually become a chairman for the commission. O'Neal died in Washington, D.C. on July 18, 1967 and was interred in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and an ambassador to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. A member of the Centre College
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
Athletic Hall of Fame, his brother was Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
Mayor Joseph T. O'Neal
Joseph T. O'Neal
Joseph Thomas O'Neal, Jr, was interim mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, from June to December 1927. His father was a respected Louisville lawyer who ran for mayor in 1905, losing in a rampantly fraudulent election to Paul C. Barth...
.
Biography
O'Neal was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Joseph T. O'Neal, Sr. and Lydia Elizabeth (Wright). O'Neal was the youngest of four children in his family and he graduated from Centre College in Danville, KentuckyDanville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
in 1907. During his tenure at Centre College he participated in football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
in which he won a championship title. In 1906-07, he led the football, basketball and baseball squad. He kicked one drop kick for 48 yards. O'Neal would be inducted into the Centre College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. O'Neal graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1908, and from the law department of the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
in 1910. He was following his father and brothers' footsteps as they were all lawyers.
O'Neal was admitted to the bar
Admission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...
in 1910 and started his law practice in Louisville. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
O'Neal served overseas in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. O'Neal was enlisted in the Fifth Field Artillery in the First Division, and as an officer in the One Hundred and Third Field Artillery in the Twenty-sixth Division from 1917-1919. Following the war he resumed the practice of law in Louisville and later was involved in banking.
O'Neal went into politics being elected as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to the Seventy-fourth Congress
74th United States Congress
-House:Also 2 Delegates, 3 Resident Commissioners-Senate:*President of the Senate: John N. Garner *President pro tempore: Key Pittman -Majority leadership:*Majority leader: Joseph T. Robinson...
from Kentucky's 3rd District
Kentucky's 3rd congressional district
Kentucky's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky encompassing nearly the whole city of Louisville, which, since the merger of 2003, is contiguous with Jefferson County...
and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1935 - January 2, 1947). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1946 to the Eightieth Congress
80th United States Congress
The Eightieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth...
losing to Thruston Ballard Morton
Thruston Ballard Morton
Thruston Ballard Morton , a Republican, represented Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was born in Louisville and received a B.A. with the Yale Class of 1929....
. The following year he served as an ambassador to the Philippines from September 22, 1947 to April 28, 1948.
After serving as an ambassador O'Neal resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He became active in the Corregidor-Bataan Memorial Commission and would eventually become a chairman for the commission. O'Neal died in Washington, D.C. on July 18, 1967 and was interred in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.