Oren E. Long

Oren Ethelbirt Long (March 4, 1889 – May 6, 1965) was an American politician who served as the tenth Territorial Governor of Hawaii from 1951 to 1953. A member of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Long was appointed to the office after the term of Ingram Stainback. After statehood was achieved he served in the United States Senate, one of the first two, along with Hiram Fong, to represent Hawaii in that body. Long was the only non–Asian American U.S. Senator from Hawaii until the appointment of Brian Schatz to the position in 2012.

Oren Long
United States Senator from Hawaii
In office August 21, 1959 – January 3, 1963
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Dan Inouye
10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii
In office May 8, 1951 – February 28, 1953
Appointed by	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Ingram Stainback
Succeeded by	Samuel King
Personal details
Born	Oren Ethelbirt Long (1889-03-04)March 4, 1889 Altoona, Kansas, U.S.
Died	May 6, 1965(1965-05-06) (aged 76) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Resting place	Oahu Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Ida Geneva Rule
Education	Johnson University (BA) University of Michigan (MA) Columbia University (MA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Rank	{ General}
Battles/wars	World War IWorld War II

Life and career

Long was born in Altoona, Kansas and attended Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee, the University of Michigan, and Columbia University in New York City. He first came to Hawaii in 1917 as a social worker in Hilo. He then held various educational positions in the public school system, eventually serving as a superintendent from 1933 to 1946. He was appointed Governor of the Territory of Hawaii by President of the United States Harry Truman in 1951 and served until 1953. Long served in the Hawaii Territorial Senate from 1956-1959.

On July 28, 1959 he was elected to one of the two Senate seats from the newly formed State of Hawaii, and took office on August 21, 1959. The other Senator elected was Republican Hiram Fong. Long chose not to run for a full six-year term in 1962, and was succeeded by fellow Democrat and then-Rep. Daniel Inouye, in January 1963.

For his entire tenure Long was Hawaii's senior Senator; although he took office the same day as Fong, Long had a seniority edge due to being a former Governor.

Long appeared as a contestant on What's My Line? shortly after taking office. One of the panelists, Bennett Cerf, recognized him immediately and disqualified himself from the round. After three rounds of questioning, the rest of the panel successfully guessed him to be a senator from Hawaii.

He died in 1965 after suffering an attack of asthmatic bronchitis in Honolulu, Hawaii and was buried in Oahu Cemetery.

Long's papers are stored at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in their Catalog for Archival Materials.

External links

• United States Congress. "Oren E. Long (id: L000425)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Oren E. Long at Find a Grave