Thomas Eagleton

Thomas Eagleton

Thomas Francis Eagleton (born September 4, 1929 in St. Louis , Missouri , † March 4, 2007 ibid) was an American politician . Between 1968 and 1987 he represented the state of Missouri in the US Senate . He was also lieutenant governor of his state from 1965 to 1968 .

Career

Thomas Eagleton graduated from St. Louis Country Day School and subsequently served in the United States Navy in 1948 and 1949 . He then studied at Amherst College until 1950 . After a subsequent law degree at Harvard University and his admission to the bar in 1953, he began to work in his new profession. In 1956 he became a district attorney in St Louis. Politically, he joined the Democratic Party . Between 1961 and 1965 he held the office of Attorney General of his state. Then he was Lieutenant Governor there from 1965 to 1968.

In the 1968 election, Thomas Eagleton was elected as his party's candidate for the US Senate. He prevailed in the primary elections against the previous incumbent Edward V. Long , who then gave up his mandate on December 27, 1968. Therefore, Eagleton was able to take up his new office on December 28th, and by January 3, 1969, first terminate Long's unfinished term and then begin his own. After two re-elections, he could remain in the Senate until January 3, 1987. In the run-up to the presidential election in 1972, Eagleton was nominated for the vice presidency by Democratic candidate George McGovern . But after it became known that Eagleton suffered from a depressive illness, which he had previously concealed, he had to resign as a vice-presidential candidate. But he remained a US Senator.

After his tenure in Congress was over, Eagleton returned to practice as a lawyer. He was also known as a commentator on political events. He was also a professor at Washington University in St. Louis . After his death on March 4, 2007, he gave his body to this university for research purposes.

Web links

• Thomas Eagleton in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)