Samuel L. Devine

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title: "Samuel L. Devine" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1915-births", "1997-deaths", "colgate-university-alumni", "county-district-attorneys-in-ohio", "federal-bureau-of-investigation-agents", "republican-party-members-of-the-ohio-house-of-representatives", "notre-dame-law-school-alumni", "ohio-state-university-alumni", "politicians-from-columbus,-ohio", "republican-party-united-states-representatives-from-ohio", "20th-century-united-states-representatives", "20th-century-members-of-the-ohio-general-assembly"] description: "American politician (1915–1997)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_L._Devine" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician (1915–1997) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
image	Samuel L. Devine 93rd Congress 1973.jpg
caption	Devine in 1973
office	Chair of the House Republican Conference
leader	John Rhodes
term_start	June 20, 1979
term_end	January 3, 1981
predecessor	John B. Anderson
successor	Jack Kemp
office1	Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference
leader1	John Rhodes
term_start1	September 16, 1971
term_end1	June 20, 1979
predecessor1	Robert Stafford
successor1	Jack Edwards
state2	Ohio
district2
term_start2	January 3, 1959
term_end2	January 3, 1981
predecessor2	John Vorys
successor2	Bob Shamansky
birth_name	Samuel Leeper Devine
birth_date
birth_place	South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Upper Arlington, Ohio, U.S.
party	Republican
children	Carol
education	Colgate University
Ohio State University (BA)
University of Notre Dame (LLB)
signature	Samuel L. Devine signature.png
::

| image = Samuel L. Devine 93rd Congress 1973.jpg | caption = Devine in 1973 | office = Chair of the House Republican Conference | leader = John Rhodes | term_start = June 20, 1979 | term_end = January 3, 1981 | predecessor = John B. Anderson | successor = Jack Kemp | office1 = Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference | leader1 = John Rhodes | term_start1 = September 16, 1971 | term_end1 = June 20, 1979 | predecessor1 = Robert Stafford | successor1 = Jack Edwards | state2 = Ohio | district2 = | term_start2 = January 3, 1959 | term_end2 = January 3, 1981 | predecessor2 = John Vorys | successor2 = Bob Shamansky | birth_name = Samuel Leeper Devine | birth_date = | birth_place = South Bend, Indiana, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Upper Arlington, Ohio, U.S. | party = Republican | spouse = | children = Carol | education = Colgate University Ohio State University (BA) University of Notre Dame (LLB) | signature = Samuel L. Devine signature.png Samuel Leeper Devine (December 21, 1915 – June 27, 1997) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served in the United States House of Representatives as Representative of the 12th congressional district of Ohio from January 3, 1959, until January 3, 1981; he left office after being defeated by Democrat Bob Shamansky, who lost the seat after a single term to Republican John Kasich. During the 96th Congress, he was the Chairman of the House Republican Conference.

Early life

Samuel L. Devine was born in South Bend, Indiana, on December 21, 1915, and his family moved to Columbus, Ohio, in 1920. He attended Upper Arlington High School. Devine attended Colgate University from 1933 to 1934 and the Ohio State University from 1934 to 1937. After graduating from OSU, Devine went to law school at the University of Notre Dame (located in the city of his birth) and received an LL.B. and J.D. in 1940.

Career

Devine was admitted to the bar in 1940 and began private legal practice in Columbus, but in 1940 was appointed a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He resigned from the Bureau in October 1945 and resumed private practice in Columbus.

Devine embarked on a political career in 1950 and was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served from 1951 to 1955. Devine was chairman of the Ohio Un-American Activities Committee, a joint committee of the Ohio House and the Senate modelled on the federal House Un-American Activities Committee. This committee, given extensive powers of interrogation, declared in 1952 that approximately 1,300 Ohioans were members of the Communist Party. At Devine's urging, the state legislature overrode a gubernatorial veto of a bill to impose prison terms and fines on Communists.

Devine served as Prosecuting Attorney for Franklin County, Ohio, from 1955 until 1958, when he was elected to the United States Congress.

Devine was also a college football official for 27 years.

Death and legacy

He died on June 27, 1997, from cancer in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

His daughter, Carol Miller, is a former Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, where she served as majority whip. In 2018, Miller was elected to Congress from West Virginia's 3rd congressional district over Democrat Richard Ojeda in one of the most-watched races in the country.

References

References

1. [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/21/archives/gop-in-house-gives-no-3-job-to-rep-devine.html G.O.P. in House Gives No. 3 Job To Rep. Devine] ''New York Times'' June 21, 1979. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
2. "SAMUEL L. DEVINE DIES AT 81". Washington Post.
3. [http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/miller-announces-bid-for-us-house-rd-district/article_a4df5435-1c3a-59f0-b75e-25ec37d554ef.html Miller announces bid for US House 3rd District] ''Herald-Dispatch'' July 21, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
4. Derysh, Igor. (October 13, 2018). "Could Democrats flip a West Virginia district Trump won by 49 points?". [[Slate (magazine).
5. WSAZ News Staff. (November 7, 2018). "Carol Miller wins U.S. House seat in W.Va. District 3". [[WSAV-TV]].

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