Kent Ellsworth Keller was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

.

Born on a farm near Campbell Hill, Illinois

Campbell Hill, Illinois

Campbell Hill is a village in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 333 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Campbell Hill has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

, Keller attended the public schools in Ava, Illinois

Ava, Illinois

Ava is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 662 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ava is located at ....

.
He was graduated from Southern Illinois Normal University at Carbondale in 1890.
He engaged as an editor and in the newspaper business in 1890 and 1891.
He taught school in Ava Township, Illinois, in 1893 and 1894, and at Duckwater, Nevada

Duckwater, Nevada

Duckwater is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Nevada, at about the same latitude as Sacramento, California. It is in Nye County, on the eastern edge of the Duckwater Indian Reservation, near the Red Mountain Wilderness. The city of Las Vegas is about 200 miles to the...

, in 1884 and 1885.
Founded the Ava Community High School in 1889 and 1890.
He attended Heidelberg University, Germany, in 1891 and 1892.
He was graduated from St. Louis (Missouri) Law School in 1896.
He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 the same year and commenced practice in Ava, Illinois

Ava, Illinois

Ava is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 662 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ava is located at ....

.
He went to Mexico in 1899, where he later engaged in mining.
He returned to Ava, Illinois

Ava, Illinois

Ava is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 662 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ava is located at ....

, in 1912 and engaged in literary work.
He served in the State senate 1913-1917.
He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1916.

Keller was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Seventy-second

72nd United States Congress

The Seventy-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931 to March 4, 1933, during the last two years...

 and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1931-January 3, 1941).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1940 to the Seventy-seventh

77th United States Congress

-Major events:* December 7, 1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor* December 8, 1941: Joint Session of Congress met to hear President Roosevelt deliver his "Day of Infamy" speech...

 Congress and for election in 1942 to the Seventy-eighth

78th United States Congress

The Seventy-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1943 to January 3, 1945, during the last two years...

 Congress and in 1944 to the Seventy-ninth

79th United States Congress

The Seventy-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1945 to January 3, 1947, during the last months of...

 Congress.
He engaged in literary work and lecturing.
He served as special adviser to the United States Ambassador at Mexico City from June 1945 to August 1946.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1948 to the Eighty-first

81st United States Congress

The Eighty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives...

 Congress and in 1950 to the Eighty-second

82nd United States Congress

The Eighty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1951 to January 3, 1953, during the last two years...

 Congress.
He died in Ava, Illinois

Ava, Illinois

Ava is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 662 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ava is located at ....

, September 3, 1954.
He was interred in Ava Evergreen Cemetery.