George R. Durgan
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = George R. Durgan
|image = George R. Durgan (Indiana Congressman).jpg
|caption = Indianapolis Star, January 14, 1942
|alt =
|state = Indiana
|district = 2nd
|term_start = March 4, 1933
|term_end = January 3, 1935
|predecessor = Arthur H. Greenwood
|successor = Charles A. Halleck*
|order5 = 19th Mayor of Lafayette, Indiana
|term_start5 = 1904
|term_end5 = 1925 (except 1914–1916)
|successor5 =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1872|01|20}}
|birth_place = Westpoint, Indiana, U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1942|01|13|1872|01|20}}
|death_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
|restingplace = Springvale Cemetery, Lafayette, Indiana
|party = Democratic
|spouse =
|children =
|occupation = Salesman
Store owner
}}
George Richard Durgan (January 20, 1872 – January 13, 1942) was an American politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1933 to 1935.
Biography
Born in Westpoint, Indiana, Durgan attended the village school there.
= Early career =
He moved to Lafayette, Indiana, in 1892 and was employed as a clerk and later as a traveling salesman. He engaged in mercantile pursuits.
He served as mayor of Lafayette from 1904 to 1913 and again from 1917 to 1925 and was delegate to the 1912 Democratic National Convention.
During his time as mayor, Durgan was an outspoken opponent of the Ku Klux Klan. He attempted to run for Governor of Indiana in 1924; his campaign announcement in Indianapolis was disrupted by hundreds of Klansmen, "nearly starting a riot."{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Leonard J. |title=Citizen Klansmen: The Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, from 1921 to 1928 |date=1991 |publisher=University of North Carolina |location=Chapel Hill |page=24}}
Durgan was passed over for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in favor of Carleton B. McCulloch, who lost the election to Republican Edward L. Jackson, who had the support of the Indiana Klan.{{cite book |last1=Madison |first1=James H. |title=The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland |date=2020 |publisher=Indiana University |location=Bloomington |page=119}}
=Congress =
Durgan was elected as a Democrat to the 73rd Congress (March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1934 to the 74th Congress. Durgan lost the 1934 election to Frederick Landis, who died before Congress convened.
=Later career and death =
He resumed mercantile pursuits. He was appointed to the Indiana Public Service Commission in 1941 and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. He died in Indianapolis on January 13, 1942, and was interred in Springvale Cemetery in Lafayette.
Legacy
The former Durgan elementary school in the Lafayette School Corporation was named in his honor.
References
{{CongBio|D000570}}
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{{Bioguide}}
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{{US House succession box|state=Indiana |district=2 |before=Arthur H. Greenwood |years=1933-1935 |after=Charles A. Halleck}}
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{{IndianaUSRepresentatives}}
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Category:Mayors of Lafayette, Indiana
Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana
Category:20th-century mayors of places in Indiana
Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives