Warren Magnuson

Warren G. Magnuson
United States Senator from Washington
In office December 14, 1944 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by	Homer T. Bone
Succeeded by	Slade Gorton
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office January 3, 1979 – December 5, 1980
Preceded by	James Eastland
Succeeded by	Milton Young
In office December 5, 1980 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by	Milton Young
Succeeded by	Strom Thurmond
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce
In office January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	John W. Bricker
Succeeded by	Howard Cannon
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations
In office 1977 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by	John Little McClellan
Succeeded by	Mark Hatfield
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 1st district
In office January 3, 1937 – December 13, 1944
Preceded by	Marion Zioncheck
Succeeded by	Emerson DeLacy
Personal details
Born	April 12, 1905(1905-04-12) Moorhead, Minnesota
Died	May 20, 1989(1989-05-20) (aged 84) Seattle, Washington
Political party	Democratic

Warren Grant "Maggie" Magnuson (April 12, 1905 – May 20, 1989) was a United States Senator of the Democratic Party from Washington from 1944 until 1981. Upon leaving the Senate, he was the most senior member of the body. Magnuson also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the Washington's 1st congressional district from 1937 to 1944.

Background

Magnuson, who was of Norwegian and Swedish parentage, was born in Moorhead, Minnesota. He grew up in the Midwest and moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington and the University of Washington School of Law. Magnuson was a member of Theta Chi fraternity. In 1928 he married Peggins Maddieux, who had won the 1927 "Miss Seattle" beauty contest. Magnuson divorced in 1935 and dated a number of glamorous women, including heiress and cover girl June Millarde and actress Carol Parker. In 1964, he married Jermaine Peralta with whom he remained for the rest of his life.

Career

After graduating from law school in 1929, Magnuson landed a job as the secretary (director) of the Seattle Municipal League, which enabled him to establish close relationships with Seattle business and civic leaders. In 1932 Magnuson was a founding member of The Young Democrats of Washington.^[1] He first ran for office in 1932, winning a state House of Representatives seat from Seattle. Magnuson served in the Washington State Legislature and as King County Prosecutor. Magnuson was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1936, filling a vacancy caused by the sudden and still mysterious death of fellow Democrat Marion Zioncheck on August 7, 1936. In 1937, along with senators Homer Bone and Matthew Neely, Magnuson introduced the National Cancer Institute Act, which was signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt on August 5 of that year.^[2] He won re-election in 1938, 1940, and 1942. After the Attack on Pearl Harbor Magnuson was a staunch supporter of the U.S. war effort.^[3]

In 1944, Magnuson successfully ran for U.S. Senate. He was appointed on December 14, 1944 to fill the vacancy created by Homer Bone's appointment to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, thus resigning from the House and starting his service in the Senate a month early.

Magnuson served in the United States Navy during World War II. He was aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise for several months, seeing heavy combat in the Pacific Theatre until President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered all congressmen on active duty to return home.

He was re-elected in 1950, 1956, 1962, 1968, and 1974. He served on the Senate Commerce Committee throughout his tenure in the Senate, and the Senate Appropriations Committee during his final term. Magnuson served most of his tenure in the Senate alongside his friend and Democratic colleague from Washington State, Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson. Magnuson was defeated in a bid for re-election by Slade Gorton in 1980.

In November, 1961, President John Kennedy visited Seattle and was an honored guest at a celebration honoring Magnuson's first 25 years in Congress. ^[4], ^[5] Nearly 3,000 people paid $100 a person to attend the dinner.

At least three important pieces of legislation bear his name: the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943 (commonly referred to as the Magnuson Act), and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. He was also instrumental in keeping supertankers out of Puget Sound, by slipping an amendment to a routine funding reauthorization bill through on the Senate and House consent calendars.^[6]

Namesakes

• Warren G. Magnuson Health Sciences Building at the University of Washington's Health Sciences building complex was named in his honor in 1970.
• Warren Magnuson's Senate desk is located in an alcove in the Suzzallo Library graduate reading room at the University of Washington.
• Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland is also named for Senator Warren Magnuson.
• Warren G. Magnuson Park in Seattle was named in his honor in 1977.
• Warren G. Magnuson Puget Sound Legacy Award has been established by the People For Puget Sound
• The Washington State Democratic Party^[7] holds an annual Magnuson awards dinner (sometimes referred to as the Maggies, per his nickname).
• The Intercollegiate College of Nursing building in Spokane, WA on Fort George Wright Drive near Spokane Falls Community College is also named after him.

Notes and references

1. ^ http://www.ydwa.org/archives/2005/08/our_history.html
2. ^ Mukherjee, Siddhartha (16 November 2010). The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. Simon and Schuster. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-4391-0795-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=5rF_31RVTnMC. Retrieved 6 September 2011. 
3. ^ Magnuson was instrumental in securing a commission in the U.S. Army for Bob Struble in 1942.
4. ^ http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=968
5. ^ http://www.jackgordon.org/Events/Kennedy-Seattle-1961/KennedyVisit1961-19.htm
6. ^ HistoryLink.org, the online encyclopedia of Washington State history. Accessed July 19, 2006
7. ^ Washington State Democrats

Related reading

• Scates, Shelby Warren G. Magnuson and the Shaping of Twentieth-Century America (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997)

External links

• Warren Magnuson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Washington State History Link Entry
• NIH Clinical Center — The research hospital was renamed the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center in his honor on October 22, 1981.
• Warren G. Magnuson Puget Sound Legacy Awards

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Marion Zioncheck	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 1st congressional district January 3, 1937–December 13, 1944	Succeeded by Emerson DeLacy
United States Senate
Preceded by Homer T. Bone	United States Senator (Class 3) from Washington December 14, 1944–January 3, 1981 Served alongside: Monrad C. Wallgren, Hugh B. Mitchell, Harry P. Cain, Henry M. Jackson	Succeeded by Slade Gorton
Political offices
Preceded by John W. Bricker	Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee 1955 – 1977	Succeeded by Howard Cannon
Preceded by John L. McClellan	Chairman of Senate Appropriations Committee 1977–1981	Succeeded by Mark O. Hatfield
Preceded by James O. Eastland	President pro tempore of the United States Senate 1978–1980	Succeeded by Milton Young
Preceded by Milton Young	President pro tempore of the United States Senate 1980–1981	Succeeded by Strom Thurmond
Honorary titles
Preceded by James O. Eastland	Dean of the United States Senate January 3, 1979–January 3, 1981	Succeeded by John C. Stennis

Persondata
Name	Magnuson, Warren G.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 12, 1905
Place of birth	Moorhead, Minnesota
Date of death	May 20, 1989
Place of death	Seattle, Washington