Aris T. Allen

Infobox_Politician
name = Aris T. Allen


width = 180px
height = 180px
caption =
birth_date = December 27, 1910
birth_place =San Antonio, Texas
residence = Annapolis, Maryland
death_date = death date and age|1991|2|8|1910|12|27
death_place = Baltimore, Maryland
state_senate = Maryland
district = 30^th
term_start = 1979
term_end = 1982
predecessor = Edward T. Hall
successor = David M. King
constituency =
party = Republican
religion = African Methodist Episcopal
occupation = medical doctor
majority =
relations =
spouse = Faye Watson Allen
children = Aris T. Allen, Jr. and Lonnie W. Allen
footnotes =
state_delegate2 = Maryland
district2 = 30^th
term_start2 = January, 9, 1991
term_end2 = February 8, 1991
president =
predecessor2 = Donald E. Lamb
successor2 = Phillip D. Bissett
state_delegate3 = Maryland
district3 = 6B
term_start3 =1967
term_end3 =1974
predecessor3 =
successor3 =

Aris T. Allen (December 27, 1910 – February 8, 1991) was an American politician who was the first African American chair of the Maryland Republican party and the first to run for a state-wide office in Maryland. [ cite web|title=Time line of the Twentieth Century |publisher=ThinkQuest|url= http://library.thinkquest.org/3337/time19.html|accessdate=2007-11-07]

Background

Aris Allen was born in San Antonio, Texas on December 27, 1910. He attended public schools in San Antonio and Washington, D.C and graduated from Dunbar High School in Washington. He attended Howard University and Howard University Medical School earning a M.D. in 1944. Allen was president of his class at Howard University in Washington, D.C. [ cite web|title=The Drive of Aris T. Allen |publisher=Bay Weekly|url=http://www.bayweekly.com/year98/dock6_8.html |accessdate=2007-11-07] Allen married Faye E. Watson in 1947 the couple had two children.Allen served as a pilot in United States Army Specialized Training Program in 1942 and was an Air Force flight surgeon from 1953 to 1955.

Medicine

Allen started his medical career as a medical resident at Freedman's Hospital, Washington, D.C., 1944 and 1945 then went into private practice in Annapolis. He received the Maryland Medical Association award for outstanding achievements in medicine and civic affairs in 1967. Allen was also the Medical affairs advisor to the Health Care Financing Administration in Maryland from 1981 to 1989, a member of the Board of Medical Examiners of Maryland and Director of the Health Standards and Quality Board of the Health Care Financing Administration. He was a board member of the Maryland Academy of Family Physicians and President of the medical staff of Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Education

Allen devoted much of his time to the education of youth in Maryland. He was the first African American to be appointed to the Anne Arundel County Board of Education, was a member of the board of the Anne Arundel Community College, and vice chair for the board of regents atMorgan State University. [ cite web|title=Aris T. Allen |publisher=Maryland State Archives|url=http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/002100/002180/html/msa02180.html |accessdate=2007-11-07]

Civic involvement

Allen served on the boards of the YMCA, the Community Chest of Anne Arundel County, the Red Cross, the Annapolis Chamber of Commerce and the Annapolis chapter of the American Cancer Society; was a life member of the NAACPand a member of the Board of stewards for his church, Mount Moriah A. M. E.

In the legislature

Allen first served in the House of Delegates reoresenting Anne Arundel County from 1967 to 1974 and then from 1990 to1991. During his tenure in the House he was Minority whip from 1967 to 1974and a member of the Constitutional and Administrative Law Committee, 1967-74. In the Maryland Senate he served on the Finance Committee from 1979-81.
*1990 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 30cite web| url=http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/1990/results_1990/gahod.html| title=House of Delegates Results |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections Retrieved on Nov. 7, 2007] ::Voters to choose three::

Republican activist

Chair, Maryland state Republican Party. Chair of the Maryland delegates to the Republican National Convention, 1972. NAACP county conference award, 1976. Chair, Republican State Central Committee, 1977-79. Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship, 1978. Candidate for lieutenant governor of Maryland, 1978. Convention secretary, Republican National Convention, 1980.:Gubernatorial General Election Results, 1978:

Legacy

Dr. Allen died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being ill with cancer in Annapolis, February 8, 1991.

A freeway, Aris T. Allen boulevard (Maryland Route 665) was named for Allen, who died the year prior to its completion. State officials planned to erect a memorial to Allen in the median of his namesake boulevard, but the memorial was placed in a nearby park so that his wife could visit. [cite web|title=Aris T. Allen Blvd.|publisher=The Roads of Metro Washington-Baltimore|url=http://www.dcroads.net/roads/MD-665/|accessdate=2007-11-07] :The text of the memorial reads:

"A man of honor...A distinguisheed career of professional and public service...As a Medical Doctor...As a member of the Maryland State Legislature...As an appointee of The President of the United States, to serve his Country on the National level...And as a caring person who has served his community in so many other ways...To help people in need...To provide opportunity for every citizen..."And to set an example that brings out the very best in us". [cite web|title=Aris T. Allen Memorial, Annapolis, Md. |publisher=USA Memorials & Dedications |url=http://www.dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0003422.htm |accessdate=2007-11-07]

Notes