Representative Dave Edward Satterfield

David Edward Satterfield III (December 2, 1920 – September 30, 1988) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who represented Virginia in the United States House of Representatives for eight consecutive terms from 1965 to 1981. He was the son of Dave Edward Satterfield, Jr., also a Democrat, who served as a Representative from Virginia in the United States Congress from 1937 to 1947 and contributed to the legislative process during five terms in office. The Satterfield family thus maintained a notable, two-generation presence in the House of Representatives during the mid‑twentieth century.

Satterfield was born in Richmond, Virginia, on December 2, 1920, into a family already closely connected with public service and politics. Growing up while his father was active in state and national affairs, he was exposed early to the workings of government and the responsibilities of elected office. His formative years coincided with the Great Depression and the New Deal era, a period that shaped the political environment in which his father served and that would later influence his own outlook as a public official.

He pursued higher education in Virginia, attending the University of Richmond. There he completed his undergraduate studies and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. His legal training prepared him for a career as an attorney, and he was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Richmond. This professional background in law provided him with experience in statutory interpretation and advocacy that would later inform his legislative work in Congress.

Before his election to the United States House of Representatives, Satterfield established himself in Richmond as a practicing lawyer and became active in Democratic Party politics. His legal practice and political involvement helped build a base of support in Virginia’s 3rd congressional district, an area long associated with his family name due to his father’s earlier service. By the early 1960s, amid the changing political and social climate of the civil rights era, he emerged as a viable candidate to continue the Satterfield presence in Congress.

Satterfield was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-ninth Congress and took office on January 3, 1965, representing Virginia’s 3rd congressional district. He was subsequently reelected to seven additional consecutive terms, serving continuously until January 3, 1981. His tenure in the House thus spanned sixteen years and covered a period of major national developments, including the escalation and conclusion of the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the Great Society legislative initiatives, the Watergate scandal, and significant economic and energy challenges of the 1970s. As a member of the House of Representatives, David Edward Satterfield III participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents, contributing to the legislative work of the chamber over the course of eight terms in office.

During his congressional service, Satterfield was part of the long‑standing Democratic delegation from Virginia that navigated the state’s political transition from the era of the Byrd Organization to a more competitive two‑party system. While specific committee assignments and individual bills associated with his name are less prominently recorded than those of some contemporaries, his repeated reelection indicates sustained support from voters in the 3rd district. His work in Congress took place against the backdrop of his father’s earlier service from 1937 to 1947, underscoring the continuity of representation the Satterfield family provided to Virginia over several decades.

Satterfield chose not to seek reelection in 1980 and left Congress at the conclusion of his eighth term on January 3, 1981. After his retirement from the House of Representatives, he returned to private life and to the practice of law, drawing on his long experience in federal legislative affairs. He remained associated with Richmond and with Virginia’s political community, representing a link to an earlier generation of Democratic leadership in the state.

David Edward Satterfield III died on September 30, 1988. His career, together with that of his father, Dave Edward Satterfield, Jr., marked a substantial period of continuous Satterfield representation in the United States House of Representatives from Virginia, with the elder Satterfield serving from 1937 to 1947 and the younger from 1965 to 1981. Their combined service reflected both family continuity and the evolving political history of Virginia and the nation across the mid‑twentieth century.