Herlong, Albert Sydney, 1909-1995

Lawyer, judge, and politician.

Born in Alabama and educated in public schools of Sumter and Lake counties, Florida. Received his law degree from the University of Florida. Established a law practice in Leesburg in 1930. Served as county judge in Lake County, 1936-1944, Leesburg city attorney, 1946-1948, and U.S. Represenstative from Florida, 1949-1969.

Albert Sydney "Syd" Herlong, Jr. was born in Manistee, Alabama on February 14, 1909. His family moved to Marion County, Florida in 1912. Herlong graduated in 1930 with a law degree from the University of Florida. He was admitted to the Florida Bar after graduation and practiced law in Leesburg, Florida. He was elected judge for Lake County, serving from 1937 to 1949. During World War II, Herlong served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps but was discharged in 1942 due to a disability caused by asthma. He subsequently joined the Florida State Guard. Herlong served as a city attorney for Leesburg from 1946 to 1948.

In 1948, he was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1949 until 1969. He served on the Post Office and Civil Service Committee and the Agriculture Committee, before being selected for the House Ways and Means Committee. He was influential in the reopening of Patrick Air Force Base and the establishment of the Guided Missile Test Center at Cape Canaveral. He was a strong advocate for improving Florida's waterways, including the Intracoastal Waterway and the harbors at St. Augustine and Cape Canaveral. He did not run for re-election in 1968, and after his retirement from Congress he practiced law in Florida. In 1969 he was appointed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and served until 1973. Herlong died on December 27, 1995.