Allen, Oscar Kelly

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<br><br>Oscar Kelly Allen Sr. (English Oscar Kelly Allen, Sr .; August 8, 1882, Wynn Parish, Louisiana – January 28, 1936, Baton Rouge, Louisiana) – American politician, 42nd Governor of Louisiana.<br>BiographyEarly years, education and family<br>Oscar Kelly Allen was born in Wynn Parish, Louisiana to Asa Levi and Sophronia (née Perkins) Allen. He graduated from Wynn High School, Springfield Teachers College and College, and the private Trinity University in Texas.<br><br>In 1898, Allen taught at a school in Wynn Ward and later in Mineral Springs, Texas, and Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. In 1898 he was Assistant Secretary at Trinity. After that, Allen worked in agriculture, on the railroad in 1912, was engaged in trade and oil drilling.<br><br>On December 4, 1912, Allen married Florence Scott Love of Paris, Texas. They had three children: Joyce Love, Oscar Kelly Allen Jr. (born 1915) and Asa Benton Allen (born 1925).<br>Political career<br>In 1916-1920, Allen worked as a tax appraiser in the Wynn ward, and in 1924-1927 he was a clerk on a police jury (equivalent to a district commissioner in other states). In 1927 he was of Louisiana. He held this position until 1931. In 1928, the governor appointed Allen chairman of the Louisiana Highway Commission. In 1930, when the State Supreme Court forbade combining positions in the legislative and executive branches of government, Allen had to resign from the commission.<br><br>On April 19, 1932, Allen was elected governor of Louisiana in the general election and was sworn in on May 16, 1932. During his tenure, the public school system was expanded, the construction of highways and bridges was increased, the loan liquidation program was completed, and Louisiana State University and public hospitals were modernized.<br>Death and honors<br>Allen died on January 28, 1936 in the governor’s mansion from a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time of his death, he was the Democratic candidate for Huey Long’s vacant seat in the US Senate. He his rival by a huge 200,000 votes, but did not live to take office. Allen was buried in the city cemetery in Winfield.<br><br>Named after Oscar Kelly Allen:<br>bridge over the South Red River between Alexandria and Pinevillehall on the campus of Louisiana State Universityhall on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette<br>In 1993, Allen was posthumously inducted into the Louisiana Politics Museum’s Hall of Fame in Winfield, along with two other governors, Huey and Earl Long.<br>

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