James A. Clark, Jr.

James A. Clark, Jr. (December 19 1918 - August 18 2006) was the former president of the Maryland State Senate from 1979 to 1983.

Biography

James Clark was born in Ellicott City, Maryland. His father was James Clark, Sr, a Circuit Court judge whose family's roots in Howard County, Maryland traced back to 1797. His mother was Alda Hopkins Clark, whose family line traced back to the Ellicott and Hopkins families (she was a relative of the philanthropist Johns Hopkins).

He graduated from Iowa State College in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in animal husbandry. He volunteered for service in the US Army, serving four and a half years in the Army Air Service. He saw action in Europe during World War II, and was among the forces that helped evacuate survivors of the Dachau concentration camp.

In 1946, he married Lillian Hawkins (who died in 2001). He died of cancer at his family farm in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Political career

In 1958 he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, and in 1962 he was elected to the Maryland State Senate. As a state senator, he served on the legislative council and was vice chairman of the finance committee.

As a legislator, Senator Clark was a champion of a wide range of issues, including civil rights, open space and farm land preservation (especially in his native Howard County, Maryland), and fiscal responsibility. Senator Clark traveled the country lobbying for state legislatures to pass the Balanced Budget Amendment.

References

* [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bal-md.ob.clark19aug19,0,1584593.story?page=1&coll=bal-news-obituaries Baltimore Sun Obituary of James Clark]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/21/AR2006082101569.html Washington Post Obituary of James Clark]