Ted Stevens

US Senator from Alaska

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
PresidentDick Cheney
Preceded byRobert Byrd
Succeeded byPatrick Leahy
87th President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office
January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
PresidentDick Cheney
Preceded byRobert Byrd
Succeeded byRobert Byrd
Senate Majority Whip
In office
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985
LeaderHoward Baker
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Succeeded byAlan Simpson
Senate Minority Leader
Acting
In office
November 1, 1979 – March 5, 1980
Preceded byHoward Baker
Succeeded byHoward Baker
Senate Minority Whip
In office
January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1981
LeaderHoward Baker
Preceded byRobert Griffin
Succeeded byAlan Cranston
United States Senator
from Alaska
In office
December 24, 1968 – January 3, 2009
Preceded byBob Bartlett
Succeeded byMark Begich
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
from the 8th district
In office
January 3, 1964 – January 3, 1968
Preceded bymulti-member district
Succeeded bymult-member district
Solicitor of the United States Department of the Interior
In office
September 1960 – January 20, 1961
PresidentDwight Eisenhower
SecretaryFred Seaton
U.S. Attorney for the
Fourth Division of Alaska Territory
In office
March 30, 1954 – June 1956
PresidentDwight Eisenhower
Preceded byRobert McNealy
Succeeded byGeorge Yeager
Personal details
Born
Theodore Fulton Stevens

(1923-11-18)November 18, 1923
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
DiedAugust 9, 2010(2010-08-09) (aged 86)
Dillingham, Alaska, U.S.
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Ann Mary Cherrington (1952–1978)
Catherine Bittner (1980–2010)
Children6, including Ben
EducationOregon 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 service1943–1946
Unit United States Army Air Forces
Battles/warsWorld War II, The Hump

Career change

Early career and education change

Stevens was born on November 18, 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana.[1]

World War II pilot change

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]

Political career change

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.

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "STEVENS, Theodore Fulton (Ted), (1923 - 2010)". United States Congress. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  2. "Bill Text, 110th Congress (2007-2008), S.RES.6.ATS". Library of Congress. Retrieved January 26, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  3. 3.0 3.1 Richard Adams (August 10, 2010). "Ted Stevens: Alaska's stalwart uncle". The Guardian. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  4. "Former Sen. Stevens killed in plane crash". KTUU.com. August 10, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  5. Katharine Q. Seelye (August 10, 2010). "Ted Stevens, Politicians and Planes". New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  6. Senate Documents 3-5: United States Congressional Serial Set; Serial No. 15072 (Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 2009), p. 37