Ed roybal biography

Latino Empowerment: Congressman Edward R. Roybal

Congressman Edward R. Roybal is already known as one of the most prolific public servants in recent U.S. history. He is the namesake for many government buildings, schools, and medical centers. In fact, he is even the namesake of the National Institute on Aging’s (NIA) Centers for Translation Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences of Aging, appropriately marking his passion and devotion to both the Aging and Latino communities. He was the representative for California Districts 30 (1963 to 1975) and 25 (1975 to 1993), but even before his public service as a congressman, Roybal devoted his time and efforts to matters of public health.

Edward R. Roybal was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 10th, 1916, as one of 10 children, to parents Baudilio Roybal, a carpenter, and Eloisa (Tafoya) Roybal. Even prior to New Mexico’s statehood, which began in 1912 after over half a century as a US territory, Roybal’s family lived on New Mexico’s land for generations. But in 1922, the Roybals moved to Los Angeles, California, where Edward would attend public school until graduating high school in 1934. His young adult life was defined by work in public health, and the pursuit of his own higher education. Straight out of high school, Edward joined the Civilian Conservation Corp, an organization meant to help young men find work during the Great Depression. After a year with the CCC, he studied accounting and business administration at UCLA and Southwestern University. Following his studies, Edward became a public-health educator working with the California Tuberculosis Association, from 1942 to 1944. In 1944, Edward served one year as an infantry unit’s accountant in World War II. Following the war, he would return to California as the Director of Health Education for the Los Angeles County Tuberculosis and Health Association, and hold the position from 1945 to 1949.

In 1949, at 33 years old, Edward

  • Edward Ross Roybal (February 10,

    • Edward R. Roybal

    Mexican-American politician (1916–2005)

    Edward R. Roybal

    In office
    January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1993
    Preceded byGordon L. McDonough (redistricting)
    Succeeded byXavier Becerra (Redistricting)
    Constituency30th district (1963–1975)
    25th district (1975–1993)
    In office
    July 1, 1949 – December 31, 1962
    Preceded byParley P. Christensen
    Succeeded byGil Lindsay
    Born

    Edward Ross Roybal


    (1916-02-10)February 10, 1916
    Pecos, New Mexico, U.S.
    DiedOctober 24, 2005(2005-10-24) (aged 89)
    Pasadena, California, U.S.
    Political partyDemocratic
    SpouseLucille Beserra
    Children3, including Lucille
    EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles
    Southwestern University

    Edward Ross Roybal (February 10, 1916 – October 24, 2005) was a Mexican-American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first Latino American to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council, serving from 1949 to 1962. He later served 15 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1963 to 1993, representing portions of Downtown and East Los Angeles.

    Biography

    Roybal was born on February 10, 1916, into a Mexican family that traced its roots in Albuquerque, New Mexico back hundreds of years, to the Roybals who settled the area before the founding of Santa Fe. In 1922, a railroad strike prevented his father from being able to work, and Roybal, age 6, was brought with his family to the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, where he graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1934. After graduation, Roybal joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. After serving in the CCC, Roybal studied business at UCLA and law at Southwestern Law School.

    He served a stint in the Army, where he worked as an accountant for an infantry unit.

    On January 8, 2001, he was presented with the Presidential

    ROYBAL, Edward R.

    In his 30 industrious years on Capitol Hill, Edward R. Roybal rose to power by shaping legislation on behalf of the underprivileged. Serving the sick and the elderly, nonprofits, and non-native English speakers, Roybal never seemed to waver from the progressive course he first set as a member of the Los Angeles city council. A cofounder of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) and its first chairman, Roybal was among the country’s most influential Hispanic politicians. Later, as chairman of a House Appropriations subcommittee, he underwrote many of the most important federal programs, making him one of the most influential Members of the House. “If we don’t invest in the Hispanic population today,” he cautioned in 1987, “we will pay the consequences tomorrow.”

    Edward Ross Roybal was one of 10 children born to Baudilio Roybal, a carpenter, and Eloisa (Tafoya) Roybal on February 10, 1916, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Like many families in the Southwest, Roybal’s family had lived in the region for eight generations, since it was controlled by the Spanish. When he was six, Edward and his family moved to Los Angeles, California, settling on the east side in the barrios near Boyle Heights. He attended the local public schools and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1934. For much of the next year, he worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps before studying accounting and business administration at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Southwestern University, also in the city. From 1942 until 1944 he worked as a public-health educator with the California Tuberculosis Association, and he later served four years as director of health education for the Los Angeles County Tuberculosis and Health Association. Late in the Second World War, Roybal served as an accountant for an infantry unit in the U.S. Army. He married the former Lucille Beserra on September 27, 1940, and the couple raised three children: Lucille; Lillian; and E

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