Born in homestead near Lewistown, Missouri, Murdock attended the public schools.

He graduated from State Teachers' College, Kirksville, Missouri, in 1912 and received a bachelor's degree at the University of Iowa in 1925.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1952 to the Eighty-third Congress, losing to Republican challenger John Jacob Rhodes.

He was married to Myrtle Cheney Murdock, who popularized the accomplishments of Constantino Brumidi.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress