Representative Franklin Herbert Lichtenwalter

Franklin Herbert Lichtenwalter (March 28, 1910 – March 4, 1973) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who served in Congress from 1947 to 1951. He was born in Pen Argyl, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1910. Details of his early family life and schooling are not extensively documented in public sources, but his lifelong association with Pennsylvania and his later political career indicate that he was deeply rooted in the communities of his home state from an early age.

Lichtenwalter entered the workforce in the general insurance industry in 1933, beginning what would become a four-decade career in that field. His experience in insurance and business provided him with practical knowledge of economic and regulatory issues that later informed his public service. From 1933 to 1973, he remained continuously employed in the insurance business, even as he rose through the ranks of state and national politics.

His formal political career began in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he served as a member from 1938 to 1947. During this period, he advanced rapidly within the Republican leadership. He served as majority leader of the Pennsylvania House from 1943 to 1946, a role in which he helped guide legislative priorities during the closing years of the Great Depression and throughout World War II. In 1947, he was elevated to the position of speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, reflecting the confidence his colleagues placed in his leadership and legislative skills.

Lichtenwalter’s state-level prominence led to his election to the United States Congress. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected as a Republican to the Eightieth Congress by special election on September 9, 1947, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Charles L. Gerlach. He was subsequently re-elected to the Eighty-first Congress, serving from September 9, 1947, to January 3, 1951. During his two terms in office, Franklin Herbert Lichtenwalter contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history, which included the early years of the Cold War, the implementation of post–World War II recovery policies, and the beginning of domestic debates over containment and economic reconversion. As a member of the House of Representatives, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents, bringing to the national stage the perspectives he had developed in state government and the private sector.

Lichtenwalter chose not to be a candidate for renomination in 1950, thereby concluding his service in Congress at the end of his second term on January 3, 1951. After leaving the House of Representatives, he resumed his work in the insurance business, maintaining the professional trajectory he had established before entering national office. His post-congressional career also included a prominent role in the energy sector: he became vice president and managing director of the Pennsylvania Electric Association in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In that capacity, he was involved in representing and coordinating the interests of electric utilities in the state, drawing on his legislative experience and understanding of regulatory and economic issues.

Franklin Herbert Lichtenwalter remained active in business and industry-related leadership until his death. He continued his association with the general insurance industry through 1973, underscoring the continuity between his private-sector work and his public service. He died on March 4, 1973. Throughout his career, he was recognized as a significant Republican figure in mid-twentieth-century Pennsylvania politics, with a record that spanned local business, state legislative leadership, and service in the United States Congress.