Bill D. Burlison

Bill D. Burlison (around 1969)

Bill D. Burlison (born March 15, 1931 in Wardell , Pemiscot County , Missouri - † March 17, 2019 ) was an American politician ( Democrat ). Between 1969 and 1981 he represented the state of Missouri in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Bill Burlison studied until 1959 twice at the Southeast Missouri State University and in between until 1956 at the University of Missouri . After his admission to the bar in 1959, he began working as a lawyer. In that capacity, he served as an attorney before the United States Supreme Court , the Military Appeals Court , all federal district courts, and the Missouri courts. Meanwhile, Burlison was chairman of the Missouri Attorney General's Association. From 1960 to 1962 he was his state's deputy attorney general . He then served three terms as prosecutor in Cape Girardeau County . He was also a legal advisor on military litigation to the 2nd Division of the United States Marine Corps . He also taught law at Southeast Missouri State College.

Politically, Burlison joined the Democratic Party. In 1964 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City , where President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for re-election. In the 1968 congressional election , Burlison was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the tenth constituency of Missouri , where he succeeded Paul C. Jones on January 3, 1969 . After five re-elections, he was able to spend six legislative terms in Congress until January 3, 1981 . During this time the Vietnam War ended . In 1974, political America was shaken by the Watergate affair . During Burlison's tenure as Congressman, the 26th Amendment was ratified in 1971 , reducing the voting age to 18.

In 1980, Bill Burlison was defeated by Republican Bill Emerson . After leaving the US House of Representatives, he returned to practice as a lawyer. He moved to Maryland , where he ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives there in 1986 and 1990 . In 1998 he was elected to the County Council of Anne Arundel County , where he served two terms until 2007. Burlison then returned to Missouri, where he settled in Advance . In 2008 and 2010 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives .

Web links

• Bill D. Burlison in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)