Thomas B. Curtis

Who was Thomas B. Curtis?

Thomas Bradford Curtis was a U.S. Representative from Missouri.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Curtis attended the public schools of Webster Groves, Missouri. He attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, earning an A.B. in 1932. He was admitted to the bar in 1934 and commenced the practice of law in St. Louis. He received an LL.B. degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1935. He received an M.A. from Dartmouth in 1951, and a J.D. from Westminster College in 1964.

He served as member of the Board of Election Commissioners of St. Louis County in 1942. He served in the United States Navy from April 8, 1942, until discharged as a lieutenant commander December 21, 1945. He served as member of the Missouri State Board of Law Examiners 1947-1950.

Curtis was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-second and to the eight succeeding Congresses. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1968 to the House of Representatives but was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate, losing to Democrat Thomas Eagleton by a 51% to 49% margin.

Mr. Curtis was a noted economist, considered by most Republicans and some Democrats to be the most knowledgeable and insightful economist in Washington during his tenure as a Member of Congress. He predicted the massive inflation that would become reality during the presidency of Jimmy Carter, and generally foresaw the pattern of change in U.S. balance of payments that actually occurred.