Charles William Whalen Jr. (July 31, 1920 – June 27, 2011[1]) was a Republican U.S. Representative from Ohio's 3rd congressional district. He served 6 terms in congress and was notably the leader of the Republican party's opposition to the Vietnam War.[2]
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Whalen graduated from Oakwood High School, from the University of Dayton with a degree in business administration in 1942, and from Harvard University Graduate School of Business in 1946. He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II and was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1946.
Whalen was vice president of the Dayton Dress Company from 1946 to 1952, and was a professor of economics and chairman of the department at the University of Dayton from 1962 to 1966.
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In 1954, Whalen was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives where he served for three terms until his election to the Ohio State Senate in 1960. In 1962, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. In a crowded primary, his main opponent in the race was John Brown a former two-term Lieutenant Governor who also served as Governor for 11 days after the resignation of Frank Lausche. Whalen took only 15.8% of the vote in the loss.
Whalen served two more terms in the State Senate.
Whalen next ran for Congress in 1966. In the general election, he took on freshman incumbent Rodney Love. Whalen won with 53.8%. This would prove to be Whalen's only competitive race for Congress. In five more races, Whalen faced token opposition taking more than 70% of the vote three times and running unopposed once.[3]
He retired in 1979 and was succeeded by Democrat Tony P. Hall.
Whalen had a moderate to liberal voting record in his career. While in the State Senate, Whalen wrote Ohio's fair housing law. He also supported the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Whalen opposed the Vietnam War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[4]
After his retirement from Congress, Whalen authored two books with his wife Barbara, a former columnist for the Dayton Journal Herald and the voice of Elsie the Cow. The first, The Longest Debate: A Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, chronicled the legislative process behind the passage of the Civil Rights Act. His second book, The Fighting McCooks – America's Famous Fighting Family, discussed a local family with a long military history.
Whalen died in Bethesda, Maryland on June 27, 2011. He was 90.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Rodney M. Love |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 3rd congressional district 1967–1979 |
Succeeded by Tony P. Hall |