Philip Hart
Philip Aloysius Hart (born December 10, 1912 in Bryn Mawr , Montgomery County , Pennsylvania , † December 26, 1976 in Washington, DC ) was an American lawyer and politician of the Democratic Party . He represented the state of Michigan in the US Senate and also served as its lieutenant governor .
Military career and advancement in Michigan
As a boy, Philip Hart attended Waldron Academy , a private school at Merion Station , and then West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys . In 1934 he graduated from Georgetown University , followed three years later by the law exam at the Law School of the University of Michigan . He was inducted into the Michigan Bar in 1938 and began practicing law in Detroit . In 1941 he joined the US Army , for which he fought as an infantry soldier during World War II . Among other things, he was during theInvasion of Normandy on Utah Beach . Hart retired from the army in 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel .
After the end of the war, he held various public offices in Michigan. He served from 1949 to 1951 as Corporation Securities Commissioner of the state, then headed the agency for price stability until 1952 and served as a federal attorney for the eastern district of Michigan until 1953 . Between 1953 and 1954 he served as legal advisor to the governor of Michigan before being elected lieutenant governor of that state. From 1955 to 1959 he was Deputy Governor Soapy Williams .
US Senator
In November 1958, Hart ran for election to the US Senate and met the Republican incumbent Charles E. Potter , whom he clearly defeated with 53.6 percent of the vote and replaced on January 3, 1959. As a result, he was confirmed twice in office, in 1970 he prevailed against Lenore Romney, the wife of US Secretary of Construction George W. Romney and mother of Mitt Romney , the future governor of Massachusetts and presidential candidate of the Republicans. In the meantime there have been efforts from conservative circles to force Hart to recall , among other things because of his attitude towards firearms control. However, a sufficient number of supporters was never obtained to initiate such an extraordinary re-election.
Over the years he also gained great recognition among the Republicans, which was also reflected in his nickname "Conscience of the Senate" ("Conscience of the Senate"). After he did not run for re-election in 1976, the Senate passed a 99-0 vote - Hart himself abstained - to name a new congress building after him. This would be the first time that a federal building would have been named after a living person. However, Hart died on December 26, 1976, a few days before the end of his term of office, of complications from cancer . Donald W. Riegle , who was elected as his successor, was then prematurely appointed senator.
The building that was to receive Philip Hart's name was completed in 1982 and officially named the Hart Senate Office Building in 1987 . It is the largest office building in the Senate. The Senator's name also bears the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek , which also honored Bob Dole and Daniel Inouye , Hart Plaza Park in Detroit and Hart-Kennedy House in Lansing , headquarters of the Michigan Democratic Party . He is also commemorated by the Philip Hart Memorial Scholarship , a grant from Lake Superior State University .
Web links
- Philip Hart in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
- Philip Hart in the database of Find a Grave (English)
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Hart, Philip |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hart, Philip Aloysius (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American lawyer and politician (Democratic Party) |
DATE OF BIRTH | December 10, 1912 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Bryn Mawr , Pennsylvania |
DATE OF DEATH | December 26, 1976 |
Place of death | Washington, DC |