Albert Richard Thomas
| Albert Thomas | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 8th district |
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In office January 3, 1937 – February 15, 1966 |
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| Preceded by | Joe H. Eagle |
| Succeeded by | Lera Millard Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 12, 1898 Nacogdoches, Texas |
| Died | February 15, 1966 (aged 67) Washington, DC |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Lera Millard Thomas |
| Religion | Methodist |
Albert Richard Thomas (April 12, 1898 – February 15, 1966) was a Democratic Congressman from Houston, Texas for 29 years and was responsible for bringing the Johnson Space Center to Houston.
Thomas was born in Nacogdoches, Texas on April 12, 1898 to Lonnie (Langston) and James Thomas. He attended local schools, worked in his father’s store, and served as a Lieutenant in the United States Army during World War I before graduating from the Rice Institute and the University of Texas Law School. He married Lera Millard. Thomas was admitted to the bar in 1927, and he practiced law and served as Nacogdoches County Attorney before moving to Houston in 1930 to become Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
When long-time congressman Joe H. Eagle did not seek reelection in 1936, so he could run for the United States Senate, Thomas sought and won the Democratic nomination, which was tantamount to election. In that primary, Thomas beat Houston Mayor Oscar F. Holcombe in what was something of an upset. The Eighth District of Texas at that time comprised all of Harris County, which includes the state's largest city, Houston.
In Congress, Thomas was a protégé of Texas Senator (later President) Lyndon B. Johnson but maintained a generally conservative voting record. In 1949, he became chairman of the House subcommittee on independent office appropriations. He also served on the subcommittee on defense appropriations and on the joint committee on Texas House delegation. He was a typical Southern Democrat who through seniority rose to be the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's, subcommittee on defense. In that capacity, he was able to steer projects to Texas including supporting Johnson's proposal to build the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station. Thomas also served on the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy and was instrumental in securing the location of the United States National Aeronautics & Space Administration's Manned Spacecraft Center (later named after Lyndon Johnson) in Houston in 1961. Since its inception, Johnson Space Center has served as mission control for every U.S. manned space flight including Apollo 11, the first lunar landing. "Houston" became the first word addressed to earth from the moon, in reference to the Johnson Space Center mission control.
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