John Porter East

John Porter East

John Porter East (born May 5, 1931 in Springfield , Illinois , † June 29, 1986 in Greenville , North Carolina ) was an American politician who represented the state of North Carolina in the US Senate .

biography

Early life

John Porter East graduated after attending public schools, including the Earlham College in Richmond ( Indiana ), the University of Illinois , where he in 1959 with a degree in law making. He received further diplomas from the University of Florida in 1962 and 1964 .

East served in the United States Marine Corps from 1953 to 1955 . In 1955, at the age of 24, he was surprised with the diagnosis that he suffered from poliomyelitis , i.e. poliomyelitis , and was therefore dependent on a wheelchair for the rest of his life . Despite his handicap, East went his own way and began practicing as a lawyer in Naples . At the same time he took over from 1964 to 1980 a teaching position as a teacher for political science at East Carolina University .

Political career

As early as 1966 East ran as a Republican party member for a seat in the United States House of Representatives , albeit unsuccessfully. It was not until 1980, with the political influence of his fellow party member and US President Ronald Reagan , that he succeeded in being elected to the Senate for the state of North Carolina as the successor to Robert Burren Morgan .

During his tenure, East was considered a conservative who, among other things, campaigned for a ban on abortions . At the same time, however, with a reform he ensured that the Capitol was adapted to be handicapped accessible and now also made easily accessible for wheelchair users. East was only the second US Senator to use a wheelchair after John C. Stennis from Mississippi .

death

In the summer of 1986, East contracted cancer , another stroke of fate that the Senator could not cope with. On Friday, June 27, he met in Washington, DC with Antonin Scalia , the nominee for the post of judge at the Supreme Court , and drove the next day on his estate in Greenville.

When John Petree, East's personal chauffeur and advisor, was due to pick him up on Sunday as agreed, he made a frightening discovery in the garage. John Porter East had committed suicide on carbon monoxide .

East is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

literature

• Andrew R. Dodge: Biographical directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005 . ( the Continental Congress, Sept. 5, 1774 to Oct. 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789 to Jan. 3, 2005 inclusive ), Washington DC 2005 , P. 998.

Web links

• John Porter East in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Biography at Arlington National Cemetery