Ted Stevens
US Senator from Alaska From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
US Senator from Alaska From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was a Republican U.S. Senator from Alaska. He served in the United States Senate for 40 years from 1968 to 2009.[1] He was the 87th President Pro Tempore of the Senate from 2003–2007.[1] For his services as president pro tempore, Senator Stevens was named as only the third President pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate.[2] Even by Senate standards, Stevens was extremely effective at getting billions of dollars in federal funds for Alaska.[3] He was so effective at it he was nicknamed "uncle Ted".[3] He also served as the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior from 1960 to 1961. The airport in Anchorage, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport was named after him in 2000. Stevens was born in Indianapolis. In 2010, Stevens died in a plane crash in Alaska at the age of 86.[4]
Ted Stevens | |
|---|---|
| |
| 3rd President pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009 | |
| President | Dick Cheney |
| Preceded by | Robert Byrd |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Leahy |
| 87th President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 | |
| President | Dick Cheney |
| Preceded by | Robert Byrd |
| Succeeded by | Robert Byrd |
| Senate Majority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985 | |
| Leader | Howard Baker |
| Preceded by | Alan Cranston |
| Succeeded by | Alan Simpson |
| Senate Minority Leader Acting | |
| In office November 1, 1979 – March 5, 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Howard Baker |
| Succeeded by | Howard Baker |
| Senate Minority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1981 | |
| Leader | Howard Baker |
| Preceded by | Robert Griffin |
| Succeeded by | Alan Cranston |
| United States Senator from Alaska | |
| In office December 24, 1968 – January 3, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Bartlett |
| Succeeded by | Mark Begich |
| Member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 8th district | |
| In office January 3, 1964 – January 3, 1968 | |
| Preceded by | multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | mult-member district |
| Solicitor of the United States Department of the Interior | |
| In office September 1960 – January 20, 1961 | |
| President | Dwight Eisenhower |
| Secretary | Fred Seaton |
| U.S. Attorney for the Fourth Division of Alaska Territory | |
| In office March 30, 1954 – June 1956 | |
| President | Dwight Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Robert McNealy |
| Succeeded by | George Yeager |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Theodore Fulton Stevens November 18, 1923 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | August 9, 2010 (aged 86) Dillingham, Alaska, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Mary Cherrington (1952–1978) Catherine Bittner (1980–2010) |
| Children | 6, including Ben |
| Education | Oregon State University Montana State University, Bozeman University of California, Los Angeles (BA) Harvard University (LLB) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Unit |  United States Army Air Forces |
| Battles/wars | World War II, The Hump |
Stevens was born on November 18, 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana.[1]
In World War II Stevens joined the US Army Air Corps as a pilot. He flew transport planes in China supporting the Flying Tigers.[5] He was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Air Medals and the Yun Hai Medal by the Republic of China.[6]
After serving in the Second World War, he went into law in Fairbanks, Alaska where he became a US Attorney soon after. When Dwight Eisenhower was president, Stevens worked in the Interior and helped to make Alaska a state. In 1968 he was appointed to the Senate, where he served for the next forty years. While in the Senate he was known for taking action for his own state: preserving Alaskan wilderness areas, protecting fisheries, and building the Trans Alaska Pipeline. He also helped set up the US Olympic Committee. In 2008 he was charged with major crimes related to corruption days before his reelection, which he lost to Mark Begich. He planned on trying to get his Senate seat back after he the charges were dropped, but he died in a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness in 2010.
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