Ray Thornton

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Raymond Hoyt (Ray) Thornton, Jr. is a former United States Congressman from Arkansas. Thornton was born July 16, 1928 in Conway, Arkansas. He earned a degree in political science from the University of Arkansas before receiving a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas. He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, eventually earning the rank of lieutenant.

Thornton served as a prominent lawyer after returning from Korea. He successfully ran as a Democrat for Congress in 1972, and he served three terms in the United States House of Representatives until 1979. Thornton decided not to run for a fourth term, instead attempting to run for a seat in the Senate. In a heated Democratic primary, Thornton narrowly lost to David Pryor, who then went on to easily win the seat.

After his defeat in the Senate race, Thornton became involved in education, serving first as the president of Arkansas State University and later the University of Arkansas. In 1991, Thornton made the somewhat surprising decision to run for his old seat. His former popularity had not faded, and he easily beat his opponent. He once again left Congress after three terms, retiring in 1997.

Thornton most recently served as a member of the Arkansas Supreme Court. He was a justice from 1997 to 2005.

[edit] External links

http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000243