Congressman Bradley Byrne, R-Alabama, on Thursday visited the University of South Alabama to formally sign an agreement donating his congressional records to the university.
“I visited The University of South Alabama today to sign an agreement officially donating my Congressional records to South Alabama for research purposes,” Byrne said. “This carries on a tradition started by Congressman Jack Edwards. South Alabama will now be home to records from Congressman Edwards, Congressman Callahan, Congressman Bonner, and myself. It was an honor to keep the tradition going!”
Byrne’s term representing the 1st Congressional District will end at the end of the year when the 116th Congress ends. Byrne ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate rather than running for re-election to the U.S. Congress.
Byrne has represented the 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2014. Byrne was elected in a special election to fill the vacant seat after Congressman Jo Bonner left Congress to accept a position working for the University of Alabama system. Bonner is presently Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s chief of staff.
Byrne previously served on the state school board, in the Alabama Senate and as chancellor of the Alabama Two Year College System. Byrne is an attorney. He has a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. He graduated from UMS-Wright Preparatory School.
Alabama’s 1st Congressional District has been in Southwest Alabama since 1843 (the First had been in Huntsville and North Alabama following statehood and then Northeast Alabama).
Since the 1st was relocated to its present home in Southwest Alabama it has been represented by James Dellet with the Whig Party from 1843 to 1845, Democrat Edmund Strother Dargan from 1845 to 1847, Whig John Gayle 1847 to 1849, Whig William Alston 1849 to 1851, Democrat John Bragg from 1851 to 1853, Democrat Phillip Phillips 1853 to 1855, Know Nothing Percy Walker 1855 to 1857, Democrat James Stallworth 1857 to 1861, there was no representation in the U.S. Congress during and after the Civil War, Republican Francis Kellogg 1868 to 1869, Republican Alfred Buck 1869 to 1871, Republican Benjamin Turner 1871 to 1873, Liberal Republican Frederick Bromberg 1873 to 1875, Republican Jeremiah Haralson 1875 to 1877, Democrat James Jones 1877 to 1879, Democrat Thomas Herndon 1879 to 1883, Democrat James Jones 1883 to 1889, Democrat Richard Clarke 1889 to 1897, Democrat George Taylor 1897 to 1915, Democrat Oscar Gray 1915 to 1919, Democrat John McDuffie 1919 to 1935, Democrat Frank Boykin 1935 to 1963, the districts were inactive as Congress was elected statewide from 1963 to 1965, Republican Jack Edwards 1965 to 1985, Republican Sonny Callahan 1985 to 2003, Republican Jo Bonner 2003 to 2013, and Byrne since 2014.
The head of the Mobile County Commission, Republican Jerry Carl, is the congressman-elect for the 1st Congressional District. Carl will succeed Byrne when the 117th Congress begins on Jan. 3.
