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Henry B. Gonzales Birth
Henry Gonzalez was born Enrique Barbosa González in San Antonio, Texas on May 3, 1916. His parents, Leonides González Cigarroa and Genoveva Barbosa Prince de González, fled to San Antonio from the state of Durango in northern Mexico during the Mexican Revolution in 1911. -
First career
In 1947 Gonzales was hired by the Pan American Congress Association as an executive assistant. From 1947 to 1951 he helped his father run a translation service in San Antonio. -
Mayor
In 1953 Gonzales was elected as the mayor of the town of Mapimi, Durango in Mexico -
State Senate
In 1956 Gonzalez was elected as the state senatehe was subsequently reelected and served until 1961. -
Governer
In 1958 Gonzalez had unsuccesfully ran for Texas Governer; although an unlikely candidate, he wanted to offer an alternative to the race between Governor Daniel and former governor W. Lee O'Daniel. -
U.S. House of Represenatives
In 1961 Gonzales was elected a member of the U.S. House of Represenatives with more than half the votes. -
Chairman of Subcommitee
In 1981 Gonzales became the Chairman of a Subcommitee on Housing and Community Development, where he worked on legislation to approve a program to assist families who faced foreclosure on their homes. Later he battled the Reagan administration when it proposed cuts in public housing programs. -
Natoinal Spotlight
González was once again in the national spotlight in 1992, when he requested an investigation of the Bush administration's involvement in loans to Iraq. -
Retiring
When González retired from Congress in 1998, his son Charlie took over his seat, and was subsequently re-elected to the 106th Congress -
Henry B. Gonzales Death
Suffering from ill health and a weak heart, the elder González died on November 29, 2000.