Reid, Charlotte T. (Charlotte Thompson), 1913-2007

Charlotte Thompson Reid (September 27, 1913 – January 25, 2007) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1963 to 1971 and as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission from 1971 to 1976.

Born Charlotte Leota Thompson in Kankakee, Illinois, she attended Aurora, Illinois public schools and Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois. In 1932, she left Illinois College without taking a degree in order to pursue her musical interests. In 1936, Thompson auditioned and won a spot on a popular, Chicago-based show, Don McNeill’s “Breakfast Club.” Thompson sang under the name Annette King for nearly three years as the show’s featured vocalist and became a voice familiar to millions of Americans who listened on the National Broadcasting Company network. She left her musdic career after marrying Aurora attorney Frank R. Reid, Jr., pursuing several civic interests in Illinois, including the March of Dimes, the Child Welfare Society, and the Girl Scouts.

Frank Reid, Jr. sought to follow in the footsteps of his father, Frank R. Reid, who served six terms in Congress as a U.S. Representative from Illinois. In 1962 Frank Jr. won the Republican nomination, beating out eight others for the seat, only to die in August before he could run in the regular election. Republican leaders in the traditionally conservative district just west of Chicago persuaded Charlotte Reid to run in her husband’s place. Though she had little political experience, Reid was an effective campaigner. She would be re-elected four times.

Reid's committee assignments included the Committee on Appropriations, where she was appointed to two of its Subcommittees: Foreign Operations, and Labor-Health, Education and Welfare. She served as one of the first six Congressional members on the Board of Governors of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and served on the Board of Governors of the Capitol Hill Club. Reid addressed the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco and the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami. She was the only member of Congress from Illinois to vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Reid resigned her seat to become a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, only the second woman to be appointed to the agency in its 37-year history. During her FCC tenure, Reid was a strong proponent of a hands-off approach to regulation, suggesting that the market, rather than federal overseers, should determine media content. She resigned as FCC Commissioner in 1976 shortly after marrying H. Ashley Barber. Later, she was a member of the President’s Task Force on International Private Enterprise from 1983 to 1985. She also served on the board of overseers of the Hoover Institution from 1984 to 1988. Reid resided in Frankfort, Michigan and Geneva, Illinois. On January 24, 2007, Charlotte Reid passed away in Geneva.