Earle Cabell

Earle Cabell (October 27, 1906 – September 24, 1975), was a Texas politician who served as mayor of Dallas, Texas. Cabell was mayor at the time of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and was later a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was son of Dallas mayor Ben E. Cabell and grandson of Dallas mayor William L. Cabell. He was the brother of Charles Cabell, who was Deputy Director of Central Intelligence until he resigned in the wake of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Many researchers believe that Cabell had President John F. Kennedy's motorcade rerouted at the last minute. Debunkers claimed to have disproved this claim by demonstrating that the change had not been made at the last minute. However, it remains unclear why such an unsafe route had been chosen in the first place, given that safer routes to the Dallas Trade Mart (the motorcade's destination) existed.

Cabell attended Texas A&M University, where he met Jack Crichton and H.R. "Bum" Bright, and Southern Methodist University. After returning from college, he founded, along with his brothers, Cabell's Inc., a chain of dairies and convenience stores. He later became involved with banking and other investments. In May 1961, he was elected mayor to succeed Robert L. Thornton.

On February 3, 1964, Cabell resigned as mayor of Dallas in order to run for Congress. He unseated the ten-year Republican incumbent Bruce Alger. In that same election, Jack Crichton was defeated by a wide margin by the Democratic Governor John B. Connally, Jr., and George Herbert Walker Bush fell to Senator Ralph W. Yarborough. Cabell served four terms in the House before he was defeated by the Republican Alan Steelman in the 1972 election.

Following his defeat, he retired in Dallas, where he lived until his death in 1975. He was buried at Restland Cemetery in Dallas.

The Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse on Commerce Street in Dallas is named in his honor.