Wayne Levere Hays was born in Bannock, Belmont County, Ohio, on May 13, 1911. He graduated with a B.A. from Ohio State University in 1933 and attended Duke University in 1935. He served as mayor of Flushing, Ohio from 1939-1945, was elected to the Ohio State Senate from 1941-1942, and was Belmont County Commissioner from 1945-1949. He was elected as a Democrat to fourteen Congresses, finally leaving office in 1976. Hays was a member of the Officers' Reserve Corps of the United States Army from from 1933 until called to active duty during World War II as a second lieutenant on December 8, 1941. He received a medical discharge in Auust 1942. As a U.S. Congressman, he was chairman of the House delegation to the North Atlantic Assembly from 1955-1976. In addition, he headed special investigative committees for tax-exempt foundations and the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. case. In 1976, Hays was removed from his position as chair of the House Admisinistration Committee and later forced to resign as a result of a scandal involving allegations of misuse of government funds. He served on term in the Ohio State House, and was then chairman of the Belmont County Democratic Committee from 1980 until his death on February 10, 1989.
From the guide to the Wayne L. Hays Papers, 1941-1989, (Ohio University)
