Herbert B. Warburton

Herbert Birchby Warburton (September 21, 1916 – July 30, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware, and Frankford, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II, and a member of the Republican Party, and served as U.S. Representative from Delaware.

Early life and family Warburton was born in Wilmington, Delaware. He attended the public schools of Wilmington and Reading, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Delaware in Newark in 1938, and from Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1941.

An ROTC graduate from the University of Delaware, he was commissioned a second lieutenant, and began active army duty as first lieutenant of the One Hundred and Twenty-second Antiaircraft Battalion in September 1941. After graduation from the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in September 1945, he served as a battalion commander until relieved from active duty as a major in December 1945.

Professional and political career Warburton was admitted to the Delaware Bar in absentia in 1942 and began a practice following his return from the Army in 1946. He served as city solicitor for Wilmington from 1949 until 1952. Warburton was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1952, defeating Democrat Joseph J. Scannell. He served in the Republican majority in the 83rd Congress. In 1954 he did not seek another term in the U.S. House, but unsuccessfully sought the United States Senate seat of incumbent Democrat J. Allen Frear Jr. In all, Warburton served from January 3, 1953, until January 3, 1955, all but the first 17 days falling during the administration of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Following his congressional service, Warburton was appointed special assistant to United States Secretary of Labor, James P. Mitchell, from 1955 until 1957, general counsel for the Post Office Department from 1957 until 1961, and minority counsel to the U.S. House Government Operations subcommittee, serving there from 1961 to 1964. Subsequently, he became a resident of Frankford, Delaware, and was executive director of the American Orthotics and Prosthetics Association and the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics.

Death and legacy Warburton died in Lewes, Delaware.

Almanac Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. U.S. Representatives take office January 3 and have a two-year term.

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