Royden Patrick Dyson born November 15, 1948 (age 63) is an American politician. He is a former Democratic

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...

 member of the United States House of Representatives

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 Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.

Born in Great Mills, Maryland

Great Mills, Maryland

Great Mills is an unincorporated community in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. Great Mills High School serves the lower end of the county, including the town of Lexington Park; there is a public swimming pool adjacent...

, Dyson attended private schools and graduated from Great Mills High School in 1966. He attended the University of Maryland, College Park

University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

, and the University of Baltimore

University of Baltimore

The University of Baltimore , located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood at 1420 N. Charles Street, is part of the University System of Maryland. Through the Freshman Initiative or Lower Division Initiative, UB has transformed from an upper division university to a...

 in 1968, 1969, and 1970. He also served as a legislative assistant in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1974.

Dyson was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates

Maryland House of Delegates

The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts. The House chamber is located in the state capitol building on State Circle in Annapolis...

, serving from 1975 to 1980, and was a delegate in 1978 to the Democratic National Issues Conference. Dyson ran for Congress in the Eastern Shore

Eastern Shore of Maryland

The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a territorial part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies predominately on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay and consists of nine counties. The origin of term Eastern Shore was derived to distinguish a territorial part of the State of Maryland from the Western...

-based 1st District in 1976, losing to two-term Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Robert Bauman

Robert Bauman

Robert Edmund Bauman is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 1st congressional district. Bauman was a prominent conservative advocate in the House, but lost re-election in 1980 following a political scandal involving male prostitution.-Early life and career:Bauman...

. However, he defeated Bauman in 1980 after Bauman was charged with soliciting a teenage boy and admitted his homosexuality

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district in 18 years and only the second since 1947.

In the 1988 election, his Republican opponent was Wayne Gilchrest

Wayne Gilchrest

Wayne Thomas Gilchrest is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives who represented . In 2008, the moderate Gilchrest was defeated in the Republican primary by State Senator Andy Harris....

, a high school teacher who had never run for office before. Dyson barely held onto his seat, winning by only 460 votes. In 1990, Gilchrest defeated Dyson 57% to 43% despite again being badly outspent by Dyson, who received substantial PAC contributions in all of his later campaigns.

In 1995, Dyson was elected to the Maryland Senate, representing District 29 (St. Mary's County and southern Calvert County

Calvert County, Maryland

Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It occupies the Calvert Peninsula which is bordered on the east by the Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region. Calvert County's residents are among the highest...

). As of 2006, he resides in Great Mills.