Roger Kent was born in Chicago, on June 8, 1906. He was the son of William and Elizabeth Kent. His father served in Congress between 1910 and 1917. Roger was prepared for college at the Thatcher School and graduated from Yale College in 1928. He stayed in New Haven after graduation, attending Yale Law School, from which he graduated in 1931. Kent practiced law in California and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1937. In 1952 and 1953, he served as general counsel for the Department of Defense. Kent served the Democratic Party in various other capacities throughout his life, most significantly as co-chairman of Lyndon Baines Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign. He was a close, personal friend of Johnson's vice-president, Hubert Humphrey. Kent married Alice Cooke in Honolulu, Hawaii, on August 26, 1930. They had four children together, one of whom died at a young age. Roger Kent died on May 16, 1980.
From the guide to the Roger Kent papers, 1970-1981, (Manuscripts and Archives)
