CROZIER, HARRY BENGE (1891 ~ 1970). Harry Benge Crozier, journalist, was born on July 27, 1891, in Paint Rock, Texas, the son of Henry John and Sallie (Benge) Crozier and grandson of William Cocke Young. He attended Southwestern University but left school in 1912 to work for the San Antonio Express (now the San Antonio Express-News), thus beginning a writing career that spanned almost sixty years.
He covered Capitol news events and legislative sessions from 1913 to 1931, first with the Express and later with the Galveston News, the Fort Worth Record (now the Fort Worth Star-Telegram), and the Dallas Morning News.
Although never far from newspaper work, Crozier continued his writing career in allied fields; he was editor of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association publication "the Cattleman," which he and Tad Moses took over and modernized with a new format that lasted thirty years.
He was also public-relations director for the American Petroleum Institute in New York, public-relations director for the Texas Centennial in 1936, and director of information for the Texas Department of Health. Crozier worked in the political campaigns of Senator Thomas Terry Connally and presidential candidates Al Smith and Wendell Willkie.
Governor Coke Stevenson appointed him to the Texas Unemployment Compensation Commission (now the Texas Employment Commission) in the early 1940s and in 1945 appointed him chairman of that agency. In January 1945, in a show of opposition to Stevenson, a solo session of the Texas Senate (the House was not convened) refused to approve Crozier's nomination to the chairmanship. The Texas State Supreme Court, ruling on the legality of the session, rendered a split decision, which had the effect of leaving Crozier in the position. He served as chairman until 1953; he also served as executive director of the TEC from 1945 until 1953. He pursued public-relations work in the 1950s and returned to journalism in about 1960 by joining Stuart Long's news service at the state Capitol.
Crozier was a member of Sigma Delta Chi, a professional journalism fraternity; Kappa Alpha, a social fraternity; and the American Legion. In 1918 he married Grace Younger; they had one son. After their divorce he married Ruth Hey. Crozier died on July 14, 1970, in Austin, and was buried in the State Cemetery.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Austin American-Statesman, November 9, 1946, December 26, 1948, May 18, 1952. Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin.
"CROZIER, HARRY BENGE." The Handbook of Texas Online. [Accessed Thu Aug 16 10:50:58 US/Central 2001 ]. |
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