James Allen (United States)

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credited to the United States Senate Historical Office
credited to the United States Senate Historical Office

James Browning Allen (December 28, 1912June 1, 1978) was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Alabama. Allen was born in Gadsden, Alabama and attended the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama Law School. He practiced law in Gadsden from 1935 to 1968 and was a member of the Alabama State legislature from 1938 to 1942. He resigned from the state legislature to enter active duty in the United States Naval Reserve from 1943 to 1946. He again ran for office after World War II and was a member of the Alabama State senate from 1946-1950. He was Lieutenant Governor of Alabama from 1951 to 1955 and again from 1963 to 1967.

In 1968 he was elected as a member of the Democratic Party to the United States Senate, and was reelected in 1974. A master of parliamentary procedure, Allen was known as one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate during his time there. He was an active opponent of the Panama Canal Treaty.

He served until his death in Gulf Shores, Alabama on June 1, 1978. He is interred in Forrest Cemetery in Gadsden. Governor George Wallace of Alabama appointed Allen's widow, Maryon Pittman Allen, to succeed him in the Senate.

Preceded by:
J. Lister Hill
U.S. Senator from Alabama
1969-1978
Succeeded by:
Maryon Pittman Allen
Served alongside: John J. Sparkman
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