Background
Elliott was born in Saint Louis, Missouri in 1904.
Elliott was born in Saint Louis, Missouri in 1904.
He attended Columbia University and received his law degree from Washington University in Saint Louis.
He was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1936, and served as a representative from Ladue from 1937 to 1953. During his time as representative, he served as the Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1943 to 1947. Howard Elliott chose not to stand for re-election to the legislature in favor of running for governor of Missouri in the 1952 election.