Bob Eckhardt

Eckhardt was born in Austin on July 16, 1913. He was the grand-nephew of Democratic Congressman Rudolph Kleberg, nephew of Republican Congressman Harry Wurzbach, and a cousin of Richard Mifflin Kleberg, Sr., heir to the famous King Ranch in South Texas. Eckhardt graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1935 and received his law degree from the University of Texas Law School in 1939. He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1944. Eckhardt was appointed Southwestern Director of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, 1944–1945.{{cite book|last=Guttery|first=Ben R|title=Representing Texas|year=2008|publisher=BookSurge Publishing|isbn=978-1-4196-7884-4|pages=58, 59}}

He moved to Houston and was elected a member of the Texas House of Representatives, serving from 1958 to 1966, where he compiled a fairly liberal voting record. One of Eckhardt's most enduring accomplishments in the Texas House was writing the Texas Open Beaches Act, passed in 1959.{{Cite web |url=http://www.texasopenbeaches.org/open.htm |title=What are Open Beaches? |access-date=June 6, 2009 |archive-date=May 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515125124/http://www.texasopenbeaches.org/open.htm |url-status=dead }}

In 1966, he was elected as a Democrat in Congress representing Texas's 8th congressional district, which included most of northern Houston. Eckhardt was the sponsor of the War Powers Act and the Toxic Substances Act.[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/eberhart-eddleman.html#R9M0IVST5 Political Graveyard] He was reelected six times without serious difficulty. In 1980, however, he was narrowly defeated by Jack Fields, losing by only 4,900 votes. He was also a co-founder of the Texas Observer magazine.[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00263/cah-00263.html Robert C. Eckhardt Papers, 1931–1992, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin]

Eckhardt died on November 13, 2001, in Austin. He was interred in Austin Memorial Park Cemetery.

• Eckhardt, Bob. The Tides of Power: Conversations on the American Constitution between Bob Eckhardt, Member of Congress from Texas, and Charles L. Black Jr., Sterling Professor of Law, Yale University (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976)

{{reflist}}

{{Portal|Biography}}

{{CongBio|E000035}}

• Keith, Gary A. Eckhardt:There Once was a Congressman from Texas (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2007) {{ISBN|978-0-292-71691-9}}
• [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00263/cah-00263.html Robert C. Eckhardt Papers, 1931–1992, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin]
• {{Find a Grave|6000752}}

{{S-start}}

{{s-par|us-hs}}

{{US House succession box

| state = Texas

| district = 8

| before = Lera Millard Thomas

| after = Jack Fields

| years = 1967–1981

}}

{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckhardt, Robert C.}}

Category:1913 births

Category:2001 deaths

Category:Politicians from Austin, Texas

Category:Military personnel from Texas

Category:Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives

Category:University of Texas School of Law alumni

Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas

Category:Kleberg family

Category:20th-century members of the Texas Legislature

Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives