Thomas Kuchel
| Thomas Henry Kuchel | |
 | |
| In office January 2, 1953 – January 3, 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Nixon |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Alan Cranston |
Senate Minority Whip
| |
| In office January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Everett Dirksen |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Scott |
California State Controller
| |
| In office February 11, 1946 – January 2, 1953 | |
| Governor | Earl Warren |
| Preceded by | Harry B. Riley |
| Succeeded by | Robert C. Kirkwood |
California State Assemblyman
| |
| In office 1937–1941 | |
| Preceded by | Edward Craig |
| Succeeded by | Sam L. Collins |
| Born | August 15, 1910 Anaheim, Orange County, California |
| Died | November 21, 1994 (aged 84) Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Betty Mellenthin Kuchel (married 1942-1994, his death) |
| Children | One child |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California (BA and LLB) |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Unit | Navy Reserve |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Thomas Henry Kuchel (pronounced KEY KULL) (August 15, 1910 – November 21, 1994), was an attorney and a Moderate Republican United States Senator from his native California.
He succeeded Senator Richard M. Nixon, who on January 20, 1953, became Vice President of the United States under Dwight Eisenhower. From 1959 to 1969, Kuchel was the Senate Minority Whip in which capacity he was a floor manager of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[1][2] He also pushed for the ratification of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which ended poll taxes in federal elections.[3] He worked in 1967 to confirm his fellow liberal, the African-American Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights attorney, to the United States Supreme Court.[4]
Kuchel was born in Anaheim in Orange County, the home of Disneyland. His father, Henry, was a newspaper editor and the former Letitia Bailey. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Southern California. In 1937, he was elected to the California Assembly, a post he filled for a single term until 1941. He served in World War II in the United States Navy Reserve. He was the California state controller from 1946 until he entered the Senate in 1953. He became controller in 1946 under his mentor, liberal Governor Earl Warren, and resigned as controller when Warren appointed him to succeed Nixon. Both Warren and Kuchel declined to support Nixon.
While running for reelection, Kuchel did not vote on the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which established open housing.[5] He sought a third full term but lost the Republican primary to the strongly conservative Maxwell Lewis "Max" Rafferty, Jr. (1917–1982), the then California superintendent of public instruction. Rafferty, however, was defeated by the staunchly liberal Alan Cranston, who like Kuchel was a former state controller.
References
- ↑ HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.. GovTrack.us.
- ↑ HR. 8601. PASSAGE OF AMENDED BILL..
- ↑ S.J. RES. 29. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION BANNING THE POLL TAX AS PREREQUISITE FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.. GovTrack.us.
- ↑ CONFIRMATION OF NOMINATION OF THURGOOD MARSHALL, THE FIRST NEGRO APPOINTED TO THE SUPREME COURT.. GovTrack.us.
- ↑ TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING, AND TO PROHIBIT RACIALLY MOTIVATED INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON EXERCISING HIS CIVIL RIGHTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES..
