Frederick F. Houser
{{short description|American politician (1904–1989)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Frederick F. Houser
| image = Frederick F. Houser, 1942.jpg
| caption = Houser in 1942
| office = 34th Lieutenant Governor of California
| term_start = January 4, 1943
| term_end = January 6, 1947
| governor = Earl Warren
| predecessor = Ellis E. Patterson
| successor = Goodie Knight
| state_assembly1 = California
| district1 = 53rd
| term1 = January 2, 1939 – January 4, 1943
| preceded1 = E. Valsaine Latham
| succeeded1 = Lothrop Smith
| term2 = January 5, 1931 – January 2, 1933
| preceded2 = Chris N. Jespersen
| succeeded2 = E. Valsaine Latham
| birth_date = November 14, 1904
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, US
| death_date = {{death date and age|1989|12|25|1904|11|14}}
| death_place = Laguna Beach, California, US
| spouse = Dorothy Eleanor Bodinus (m. 1925)
| relations = Frederick W. Houser (father)
| party = Republican
| education = {{hlist|University of California at Los Angeles|Harvard Law School}}
| profession = Attorney, judge
}}
Frederick Francis Houser (November 14, 1904 – December 25, 1989) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 34th lieutenant governor of California under Governor Earl Warren from 1943 to 1947.{{sfn|"Electoral History, Frederick F. Houser"}}
Early years
Houser was born in Los Angeles, California on November 14, 1904, the son of California Court of Appeals Justice Frederick W. Houser and Sara Wilde, both of whom were active participants in the early years of what is now the USC Gould School of Law.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}} Houser was raised in Alhambra, California,{{sfn|"F. F. Houser, 85; Superior Court Judge, Lt. Governor, Legislator"}} and graduated from the University of Southern California at Los Angeles in 1926.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}} He taught government at Harvard University while attending Harvard Law School from 1926 to 1929, and he graduated with an LL.B.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}} Houser was admitted to the bar in 1930, and practiced law until 1946. Houser was UCLA's student body president from 1925 to 1926, served as president of the UCLA alumni association 1933–1935, and won the school's Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year Award in 1948.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}}
Career
From 1926 to 1940, Houser was a member of the Los Angeles County Republican Central Committee.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}} From 1930 to 1940, he served on the California Republican State Central Committee.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}} He served in the California State Assembly from 1931 to 1933 and again from 1939 to 1943.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}} Houser was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 1932, 1934, and 1936.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}}
In 1942, Houser was elected lieutenant governor.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}} He served until 1947, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate in 1944, losing narrowly to incumbent Sheridan Downey.{{sfn|"California US Senate Race, 1944"}}
Judge
After leaving the lieutenant governor's office, Houser was appointed as a judge of the California Superior Court.{{sfn|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}} He served from 1947 until retiring in 1966.{{sfn|"F. F. Houser, 85; Superior Court Judge, Lt. Governor, Legislator"}}
Retirement and death
In retirement, Houser was a resident of Laguna Beach, California.{{sfn|"F. F. Houser, 85; Superior Court Judge, Lt. Governor, Legislator"}} He died in Laguna Beach on December 25, 1989.{{sfn|"F. F. Houser, 85; Superior Court Judge, Lt. Governor, Legislator"}}
Family
In 1925, Houser married Dorothy Eleanor Bodinus, a fellow UCLA student.{{sfn|"Obituary, Mrs. Frederick F. Houser"}} She died in 1996, and they had no children.{{sfn|"Obituary, Mrs. Frederick F. Houser"}}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
Sources
=Internet=
- {{cite web |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt2r29n6xf/ |title=Biography, Frederick Francis Houser |date=1975 |website=Finding Aid for the Frederick Francis Houser Papers |publisher=Online Archives of California |location=Sacramento, CA |access-date=June 14, 2018 |ref={{sfnRef|"Biography, Frederick Francis Houser"}}}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/7728 |title=Electoral History, Frederick F. Houser |date=2005 |website=JoinCalifornia |publisher=Alex Vassar & Shane Meyers |location=Sacramento, CA |access-date=June 14, 2018 |ref={{sfnRef|"Electoral History, Frederick F. Houser"}}}}
- {{cite web |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=26812 |title=California US Senate Race, 1944 |date=2017 |website=ourcampaigns.com |publisher=Our Campaigns.com |access-date=June 14, 2018 |ref={{sfnRef|"California US Senate Race, 1944"}}}}
=Newspapers=
- {{cite news |date=December 29, 1989 |title=F. F. Houser, 85; Superior Court Judge, Lt. Governor, Legislator |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-29-mn-1144-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, CA |ref={{sfnRef|"F. F. Houser, 85; Superior Court Judge, Lt. Governor, Legislator"}}}}
- {{cite news |date=December 21, 1996 |title=Obituary, Mrs. Frederick F. Houser |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16560490/dorothy_bodinus_la_times_obituary/ |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, CA |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|"Obituary, Mrs. Frederick F. Houser"}}}}
External links
- {{find a Grave|224135428}}
- [http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/7728 Join California Frederick F. Houser]
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef | before = Philip Bancroft }}
{{s-ttl | title = Republican nominee for
U.S. Senator from California (Class 3) | years = 1944 }}
{{s-aft | after = Richard Nixon }}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef | before = Ellis E. Patterson }}
{{s-ttl | title = Lieutenant Governor of California | years = 1943-1947 }}
{{s-aft | after = Goodwin Knight }}
{{s-end}}
{{CALtGovernors}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houser, Frederick Francis}}
Category:California state court judges
Category:Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Category:Harvard University faculty
Category:Lieutenant governors of California
Category:People from Alhambra, California
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:20th-century California state court judges
Category:Harvard Law School alumni
Category:20th-century members of the California State Legislature
{{California-CAAssembly-stub}}