What position did Dennis Chávez take from Mar 1931 to 1935?
Dennis Chávez Dionisio Dennis Chávez ( April 8 , 1888November 18 , 1962 ) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1931 to 1935 , and in the United States Senate from 1935 to 1962 . He was the first Hispanic person elected to a full term in the US Senate and the first U.S . Senator to be born in New Mexico ( which was still a U.S . Territory at the time of his birth ) . Early life . Chávez was born in Los Chavez in the New Mexico Territory . His parents , David and Paz Chávez , were members of families that had lived in Los Chavez for generations . There was no school in that town . In 1895 , David Chávez moved his family to the Barelas section of Albuquerque , New Mexico to work on the railroad and Dennis attended school until 7th grade when financial hardships necessitated that he work . His first job was delivering groceries at the Highland Grocery store . Later on , he studied engineering and surveying at night , and worked as an engineer for the City of Albuquerque for several years . Denniss younger brother , David Chávez , served as the 34th Mayor of Santa Fe , a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico , and as a member of the New Mexico Supreme Court . Career . Early career . Chávez worked briefly as editor of a Belen weekly newspaper , as a court interpreter , and as a private contractor until 1916 , when he obtained temporary employment as a Spanish interpreter for Senator Andrieus A . Jones election campaign . In 1917 , he was offered a position as assistant executive clerk of the Senate in Washington , D.C . by Senator Jones . He accepted this position , passed a special admission exam at Georgetown University Law Center and studied law at night . He graduated from Georgetown in 1920 , and returned to Albuquerque to establish a law practice . He was successful in defending organized labor and as a defense counsel in high-profile murder cases , where he used his popularity to run for office . House . In 1922 , Chávez was elected to the New Mexico state legislature , but he did not seek another term . In 1930 , he was elected to New Mexicos one at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat , and was re-elected in 1932 . Chávez served as chairman of the House Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation . He did not seek re-election to the House in 1934 , becoming a candidate for the United States Senate . Senate . Chávez was the Democratic nominee for U.S . Senator from New Mexico in 1934 . He lost narrowly to Republican incumbent Bronson M . Cutting . However , Cutting was killed in an airplane crash on May 6 , 1935 , and five days later , Chávez was appointed to fill the vacancy pending a special election . In 1936 , Chávez was elected to the remaining four years of Cuttings term , and then won a full term of his own in 1940 , becoming the first person of Hispanic descent to be elected to a full term in the U.S . Senate . ( Octaviano Larrazolo , also from New Mexico , was the first Hispanic to be elected to the Senate , but he was only elected to the remainder of an unexpired term and never served a full term. ) Chávez was re-elected again in 1946 , 1952 and 1958 , and served until his death in 1962 . He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Works from 1949 to 1953 , and again from 1955 until his death . In 1954 , Senate Republicans attempted to remove Chávez from his seat , claiming that irregularities from the 1952 election meant the election results could not be trusted . A resolution that claimed no candidate had won the 1952 election , and therefore requiring the Republican governor of New Mexico to appoint a new senator , was defeated by a vote of 36-53 . Personal life . In 1911 , Chávez married Imelda Espinosa , a member of a prominent New Mexico family . In 1914 , they moved to Belen . The couple had three children : Dennis , Jr. , Gloria and Ymelda . Dennis Chávez died of cancer , attributed to his being a lifelong smoker , in Washington , D.C . on November 18 , 1962 , and was buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Albuquerque , New Mexico . Congress honored his memory with a minute of silence , and then-Vice-President Lyndon B . Johnson spoke at his funeral . At the time of his death , he was fourth-ranking in Senate seniority . Legacy . Chávez , only the second-ever Hispanic member of the US Senate , was the first US-born Hispanic elected to the Senate ( Octaviano Larrazolo was born in Mexico ) . He was also the first person born in New Mexico elected by the state to the Senate . By a large margin , he is the longest-serving Hispanic US senator . He was honored by the United States Postal Service with a 35¢ Great Americans series ( 1980–2000 ) postage stamp . His daughter , Ymelda Chavez Dixon , wrote a successful womens column for the Washington Evening Star from 1965-1981 called Your Date with Ymelda . A granddaughter , Gloria Tristani , followed in public service , serving as chair of the New Mexico State Corporations Commission in 1996 , as a member of the Federal Communications Commission from 1997 to 2001 , and as the Democratic nominee for New Mexicos other U.S . Senate seat in 2002 where she lost to Senator Pete Domenici .