Clyde Martin Reed
Politician. Republican. Born: October 19, 1871, Champaign County, Illinois. Died: November 8, 1949, Parsons, Kansas. Served as 24th Governor of Kansas: January 14, 1929, to January 12, 1931. Served in U.S. Senate: January 3, 1939, to November 8, 1949.
Clyde Martin Reed was born in Champaign County, Illinois, on October 19, 1871, to Martin Van Buren and Mary Adelaide (Southworth) Reed. In 1875, when Reed was four years old, his family left Illinois and moved to Kansas. He attended local schools. After high school he became a schoolteacher. He married Minnie Etta Hart in Washington, D.C., on June 15, 1891; they had six children. Reed worked for 30 years as a federal employee, working for railroad mail carrier service and with the U.S. Post Office. In 1917 he took over as manager and editor of the Parsons Sun.
Reed became personal secretary to Governor Henry J. Allen in 1919. Four years later Reed purchased controlling interest in the Parsons Sun, and continued as publisher. He served on the Kansas Industrial Court from 1920 to 1921. He was a member of the public utilities commission from 1921 to 1924.
In 1928 Reed ran for the state’s highest office and was elected the 24th governor of Kansas. He served one term from 1929 to 1931. He decided not to run for re-election and returned to newspaper editing.
In 1938 Reed defeated the incumbent U.S. Senator George McGill. He served 10 years in the U. S. Senate from 1939 to 1949.
Reed died while in office at the age of 78 in Parsons, Kansas, on November 8, 1949.
Entry: Reed, Clyde Martin
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: June 2011
Date Modified: February 2017
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
