Dionisio "Dennis" Chávez (April 8, 1888 – November 18, 1962) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1931 to 1935, and in the United States Senate from 1935 to 1962.

Senator Dennis Chavez, who represented the state of New Mexico for 27 years in the U.S. Senate, was the first American-born Hispanic senator. Chavez quit school at the age of 13 in order to help support his impoverished family.

The first Hispanic Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate, Dennis Chavez changed the face of New Mexican and national politics. Over his 31-year career, Chavez never strayed far from the New Deal liberalism that first won him election to national office.

Dennis Chavez (April 8, 1888–November 18, 1962) was a U.S. Senator from New Mexico. One of only a handful of Mexican Americans ever elected to the Senate, Chavez ardently supported the New Deal to bring jobs and educational opportunities to his constituents.

As a United States senator, Dennis Chavez fought for the rights of Hispanic residents and Native Americans in his home state of New Mexico. Chavez served as a senator for 27 years, from 1935 to 1962. He was a strong defender of civil rights, and he paved the way for subsequent legislation.

T he first Hispanic Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate, Dennis Chavez changed the face of New mexican and national politics. over his 31-year career, Chavez never strayed far from the New Deal liberalism that first won him election to national ofice.

Dennis Chavez: 1888-1962: Legislator. As the first native-born Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Senate, Dennis Chavez burned with a desire to provide minorities with equal protection under the law.

"Dennis Chavez" in Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-2012. Prepared under the direction of the Committee on House Administration by the Office of the Historian and the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.

US Congressman, Senator. Educated at public schools, he worked as a grocer’s clerk as a boy and later in the engineering department of the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He traveled to Washington in 1917, with Senator Andrieus A. Jones and served as clerk in the office of the Secretary of the United States Senate,...

CHAVEZ Dennis , a Representative and a Senator from New Mexico; born in Los Chavez, Valencia County, N.Mex., April 8, 1888; attended the public schools; worked as a grocer's clerk as a boy and later in the engineering department of the city of Albuquerque; travelled to Washington in 1917 with Senator Andrieus A. Jones and served as clerk in the ...