Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg (1887–1980) was an American military and political leader, and a member of the Muhlenberg political dynasty.

Biography

Muhlenberg was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in Berks County on September 25, 1887. He was the son of Dr. William Augustus and Henrietta Muhlenberg. He was the great-great-grandson of Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg and the great-great-grand-nephew of John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg.

He attended Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

During World War I, he was a captain in the 314th Infantry Regiment serving from September 1917 to March 1919. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Purple Heart, the Légion d’Honneur and the Croix de Guerre with Palm for his actions in World War I.

During the interwar period, he worked as an architect at the firm of Muhlenberg, Yerkes & Muhlenberg. He was elected to the Reading City Council, and became Republican Party chairman for Berks County, Pennsylvania.

He reentered the United States Army in 1940, where he served in World War II as a Lieutenant colonel and then Colonel in the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

In 1946, he was elected to the 80th Congress from Pennsylvania. He served from January 3, 1947 until January 3, 1949; but he lost a reelection bid in 1948, defeated by Democrat George M. Rhodes.

He was chairman of the State Art Commission (1952–1963) and the County Planning Commission (1958–1972).

He died in Reading, Pennsylvania on January 19, 1980. As a veteran, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

A collection of awards, military medals, paperwork and other items related to Representative Muhlenberg is held by the Historical Society of Berks County.

See also

References

• Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-07-26
• Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg at Find a Grave