Richard Estep Lankford (July 22, 1914 - September 22, 2003) represented the fifth district of the state of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives for five terms from 1955-1965. Lankford was born in Wilmington, Delaware and attended private schools in Baltimore, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1937, and his LL.B. degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 1940. He was employed as a lawyer in private practice, and engaged in active management of tobacco and cattle farms.
During World War II, Lankford served in the United States Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1946. After the war, he was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates form 1948 to 1954, and was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election to U.S. Congress in 1952. He served on the Maryland Legislative Council in 1953, and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1956 before being successfully elected to the U.S. Congress in 1954. He served from January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1965, but was not a candidate for renomination in 1964. He died in Easton, Maryland.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Preceded by: Frank Small, Jr. Representative of the Fifth Congressional District of Maryland 1955 - 1965 Succeeded by: Hervey Machen
