Charles Mathias, Jr.

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Charles "Mac" Mathias, Jr.
United States Senator from Maryland
In office January 3, 1969 – January 6, 1987
Preceded by	Daniel Brewster
Succeeded by	Barbara Mikulski
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 6th district
In office January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1969
Preceded by	John R. Foley
Succeeded by	John Glenn Beall, Jr.
Born	July 24, 1922 (1922-07-24) (age 85) Frederick, Maryland
Political party	Republican

Charles McCurdy "Mac" Mathias, Jr. (born July 24, 1922) is a Republican former member of the United States Senate, representing Maryland from 1969 to 1987. He was also a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1959 to 1960, and a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 6th congressional district of Maryland, from 1961 to 1969.

[edit] Biography

Mathias was born in Frederick, Maryland, and attended Frederick County Public Schools. In 1944, he graduated from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He later attended Yale University, and received a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1949.

In 1942, during the Second World War, Mathias enlisted in the United States Navy and served at the rank of Seaman Apprentice. He was promoted to Ensign in 1944 and served sea duty in the Pacific Ocean area from 1944 until he was released from active duty in 1946.

Following the War, Mathias rose to the rank of Captain in the United States Naval Reserve and became assistant Attorney General of Maryland from 1953 to 1954. From 1954 to 1959, he was the City Attorney of Frederick. In 1959, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.

After only serving a year in the House of Delegates, Mathias was elected to the 87th and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from 1961 to 1969. Mathias was elected to the United States Senate in 1968, and reelected in 1974 and 1980, serving from 1969 to 1987. He chose not to run for re-election in 1986.

While senator, he served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Termination of the National Emergency (92nd to 94th Congresses), co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Printing (97th and 99th Congresses), member of the Joint Committee on the Library (98th and 99th Congresses) and chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration (97th to 99th Congresses).

Senator Mathias' greatest legacy is his contribution to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. *[1] On November 8, 1979, Senator Mathias, and senator John W. Warner of Virginia introduced legislation to authorize a site of national parkland for the Memorial.

Mathias was a liberal Republican and took strong stands in favor of civil rights and poverty programs and sought to end the Vietnam War and the death penalty. Toward the end of his tenure he was very much out of step with his party. In 1975 he publicly flirted with the idea of running for President as an independent, but in the end he remained in the Republican Party.

Today, Mathias practices law in Washington, D.C. and is a resident of Chevy Chase, Maryland.

[edit] References

• Charles Mathias, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-01-24

[edit] External links

• Mathias Medal
• Dedication along Interstate 270 in Maryland.

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