Richard Keane

Richard Valentine Keane (14 February 1881 – 26 April 1946) was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as Minister for Trade and Customs from 1941 until his death in 1946. He was a member of both the House of Representatives (1929–1931) and the Senate (1938–1946). Prior to entering politics he worked as a clerk with the Victorian Railways and served as national secretary of the Australian Railways Union (1925–1929).

Early life Keane was born on 14 February 1881 in Beechworth, Victoria, the fourth child of Hanorah (née O'Sullivan) and Timothy Keane. His parents were Irish Catholic immigrants – his mother was born in County Tipperary and his father, a police constable, in County Kerry. He possessed papers showing that his father had served with the Union in the American Civil War under the name "Timothy Kane", and had received a commendation for his role in the Battle of Sailor's Creek.

Keane was educated at Christian Brothers College, St Kilda, following his father's transfer to Melbourne. He later became the first president of the school's Old Boys association.

Keane died at a hospital in Washington, D.C., on 26 April 1946, aged 65. He had collapsed earlier in the day at the Australian embassy due to heart trouble, which was attributed to over-work. He had taken over the administration of the embassy while awaiting the arrival of the new ambassador, Norman Makin.

Personal life In 1909, Keane married Ruby Thorne, a milliner, with whom he had two daughters and a son. He was widowed in 1923 and remarried in 1940 to Millicent Dunn, a typist, with whom he had another daughter, Virginia.

Keane stood tall and reportedly weighed .