Charles O. Porter

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Charles Orlando Porter (April 4, 1919 - January 1, 2006) was a politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon to Frank Porter and Ruth Peterson. He graduated from high school in Eugene, Oregon and then went on to graduate from Harvard University with a B.S. in 1941. From there he went on to serve in the United States Army during World War II from 1941 to 1945. He then went back to Harvard's Law School and graduated with an L.L.S. in 1947. He served as the Congressional Representative for Oregon's 4th congressional district from 1957 to 1961. In association with Robert J. Alexander, he wrote The Struggle for Democracy in Latin America, which was published in 1961. He was married to Priscilla Porter, who died in 2002. They had four children: Don, Chris, Sam, and Anne. He died on New Year's Day, 2006, in Eugene, of Alzheimer's disease.

When he was in Congress from 1957 through 1961, Porter backed admitting China to the United Nations, opening trade with China and halting nuclear testing. He was also an anti-Vietnam War activist. After returning to private law practice in Eugene, he was best known as one of the main proponents of the removal of a controversial Christian cross from Skinner Butte in Eugene.