Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Teague, Olin Earl
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1910-1981
History
Olin Earl Teague was born on April 6, 1910, in Woodward, Oklahoma to James Martin and Ida (Sturgeon) Teague, and raised in Mena, Arkansas. Having graduated from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M University) in 1932, Teague went to work for the U.S. Post Office in College Station for the next 8 years. Teague joined the U.S. Army in 1940 and was discharged in 1946 as a Colonel. During his time in the army, he participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts, among other decorations.
Teague was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from the 6th district of Texas through a special election on August 24, 1946, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Luther A. Johnson. During his tenure in the House, Teague’s focuses included veteran’s affairs and survivor’s benefits. He served at various times as Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, the Select Committee on Education, Training, and Loan Programs of World War II Veterans, and the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. After serving for seventeen terms, Teague left office for the last time on December 31, 1978, succeeded by then-Democrat Phil Gramm.
Teague’s lasting legacies, besides the legislation he championed, include the Olin E. Teague Veterans Center in Temple, Texas, the federal Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Olin E. Teague Research Center at Texas A&M University. Olin E. Teague died in Bethesda, MD on January 23, 1981, at 70 years of age, and he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.