John F. Seiberling

John Frederick Seiberling, Jr. (September 8 1918 – August 2 2008) was a United States Representative from Ohio. In 1974, he helped to establish what later became the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and served on the House Judiciary Committee that held the impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.cite news |first=Bob |last=Downing |title=John Seiberling is dead at 89 |url=http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/26205809.html |work=Akron Beacon Journal |date=2008-08-02 |accessdate=2008-08-02]

Born in Akron, Ohio, Seiberling attended the public schools of Akron, and Staunton Military Academy in Virginia. He received his A.B. from Harvard University in 1941. His parents, Lieut. John Frederick Seiberling (1888 – 1962) and Henrietta McBrayer Buckler (1888 – 1979), had been wed on October 11, 1917 in Akron, Ohio. He had two sisters: Mary Gertrude Seiberling (born 1920) and Dorothy Buckler Lethbridge Seiberling (born 1922). His paternal grandparents were Franklin Augustus Seiberling and Gertrude Ferguson Penfield. His maternal grandparents were Julius Augustus Buckler and Mary Maddox.

During World War II he served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946. He was subsequently awarded the Legion of Merit for his participation in the Allied planning of the D-Day invasion. [http://www.akronworldaffairs.org/newsletter/features/seiberling.html Walker Snider (2005).] ]

He married Elizabeth "Betty" Behr, a Vassar graduate, in 1949. They have three sons: John B., David and Stephen.

Seiberling received his LL.B. from Columbia Law School in 1949. In 1950, Seiblerling was admitted to the New York bar and went into private practice. He became an associate with a New York firm from 1949 to 1954, and then became a volunteer with the New York Legal Aid Society in 1950. He served as a corporate attorney in private industry from 1954 to 1970, including working as a corporate attorney for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. During this time he was a member of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission in Akron from 1964 to 1970.

Seiberling was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-second and to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving the 14th district from January 3 1971 to January 3 1987. [cite news |work=Akron Beacon Journal |title= 'An American hero' dies: Retired congressman who represented Akron for 16 years praised for his tireless work creating Cuyahoga Valley park, preserving wilderness |url=http://www.ohio.com/news/26217469.html |date=2008-08-03 |first=Bob |last=Downing] His political legacy includes enacting bipartisan environmental protections and participating in a 1975 Congressional delegation to the Middle East that helped precipitate the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Seiberling was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundredth Congress in 1986.

After his time in Congress, Seiberling served as faculty at the law school of the University of Akron from 1992 to 1996.

On Thursday, October 12 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law H.R. 6051, which designates the Federal building and United States courthouse in Akron as the John F. Seiberling Federal Building and United States Courthouse. [ [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061012-7.html President Designates United States Postal Service, Courthouse and Federal Building Facilities] ] Seiberling died of respiratory failure at his home in Copley, Ohio on August 2 2008.

John Seiberling's cousin, Francis Seiberling, was also a U.S. Representative from Ohio (Republican). His mother, Henrietta Buckler Seiberling, was a seminal figure in Alcoholics Anonymous' founding and core spiritual ideals. [http://www3.uakron.edu/schlcomm/womenshistory/seiberling_h.htm University of Akron (n.d.).] ] [ [http://www.aabibliography.com/henrietta_buckler_seiberling.htm www.aabibliography.com (n.d.)] .] His paternal grandfather was Frank Seiberling, founder of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The family's one-time home, Stan Hywet, is now a national museum.

Notes

References

*CongBio|S000230
*University of Akron (n.d.). "Henrietta Buckler Seiberling, 1888-1979". Retrieved 2007-11-20 from "Akron Women's History" at http://www3.uakron.edu/schlcomm/womenshistory/seiberling_h.htm.
*Walker Snider,Jane (2005). "Profiles in Service: John & Betty Seiberling". Retrieved 2007-11-20 from "Akron Council on World Affairs" at http://www.akronworldaffairs.org/newsletter/features/seiberling.html.
*www.aabibliography (n.d.). "Henrietta Buckler Seiberling (1888-1979)". Retrieved 2007-11-20 from "An Illustrated Alcoholic Anonymous Bibliography" at http://www.aabibliography.com/henrietta_buckler_seiberling.htm.