Dennis Chavez

Dionisio Dennis Chvez was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of New Mexico who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1931 to 1935, and in the United States Senate from 1935 to 1962. He was the first Hispanic Democrat elected to the US Senate.

Chvez was born in Los Chaves, Valencia County, New Mexico. His parents, David and Paz Chvez, were members of families that had lived in Los Chaves for generations. There was no school in that town. In 1895, David Chvez moved his family to the Barelas section of Albuquerque to work on the railroad and Dennis attended school until 7th grade when financial hardships necessitated that he work. His first job was delivering groceries at the Highland Grocery store. Later on, he studied engineering and surveying at night, and worked as an engineer for the City of Albuquerque for several years.

Source: Wikipedia