In Memoriam: Jack Brooks, 1922-2012

AUSTIN, Texas — The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin mourns the passing of Jack Brooks, one of the longest serving members of the House of Representatives. Brooks passed away at the age of 89 on December 4, 2012, in Beaumont, Texas.

Brooks earned national recognition for his major contributions to civil rights legislation, his dogged protection of civil liberties, his role as a watchdog over government spending and operations, and his part in the impeachment proceedings of President Richard M. Nixon.

Congressman Brooks played an integral role in shaping our national policy from the Cold War era of the 1950s to the global economy of the 1990s," said Don Carleton, executive director of the Briscoe Center. "We mourn his passing but his legacy lives on. His papers will provide historians and researchers with tremendous insight into the critical issues America faced in the second half of the twentieth century."

Born in Crowley, Louisiana, on December 18, 1922, Brooks moved to Beaumont, Texas, at the age of five. He attended public schools and received a scholarship to Lamar Junior College. Later he transferred to the University of Texas where he earned a B.A. in journalism in 1943. During World War II, Brooks enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving for approximately two years in the Pacific. 

LCV Cities Tour – Beaumont: Congressman Jack Brooks. Lamar University History Professor Robert Robertson talks about former Congressman Jack Brooks.