Bonner, Herbert Covington, 1891-1965

Herbert Covington Bonner, of Washington, N.C., was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1940 until his death in 1965. He was chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, 1955-1965, and chairman, 1951-1955, of the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee ("watchdog committee") of the Expenditures in the Executive Departments Committee, which made changes designed to eliminate waste in the handling of war surplus material and in military supply procurement.

Herbert Covington Bonner was born in Washington, N.C., the son of Hannah Selby Hare and Macon Herbert Bonner, both from families that had long lived in the area. He studied at Warrenton Academy from 1906 to 1909 and traveled through the small towns of North Carolina as a snuff salesman. In World War I, Bonner served as a sergeant in the 322nd Infantry, 81st Division.

Bonner worked as aide to his neighbor Lindsay C. Warren when Warren was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1940, after Warren was named comptroller-general of the United States, Bonner was elected as a Democrat to the congressional seat representing North Carolina's First District.

Bonner served in the House for nearly 25 years until his death from cancer in 1965. His district included, at one time or another, 14 counties in the northeastern corner of the state. He was constant in seeking federal appropriations and jobs for the area. He was chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee from 1955; and for four years, 1951-1955, served as chairman of the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee ("watchdog committee") of the Expenditures in the Executive Departments Committee, which made changes designed to eliminate waste in the handling of war surplus material and in military supply procurement. Bonner's seat was seriously challenged only twice: in 1946 by Robert Lee Humber and in 1960 by Walter Jones. While not an innovator, Bonner backed such projects as establishment of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the social programs of the Roosevelt and Kennedy administrations.

Herbert Bonner married Eva Hassell Hackney, also of Washington, N.C. For Eva Hassell Hackney's papers, see the Hassell Family Papers (#4942).

Information from: William S. Powell, ed., The Dictionary of North Carolina Biography (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1979).