Stewart McKinney

Stewart Brett McKinney (January 30, 1931 – May 7, 1987) was an American politician who represented the fourth congressional district of Connecticut in the House of Representatives from 1971 until his death.

McKinney was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but by the time he graduated high school, his family was living in Connecticut, where he would live for the rest of his life. After attending Princeton University from 1949 to 1951, he dropped out and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he attained the rank of sergeant. After leaving the Air Force in 1955, he went back to college, receiving a B.A. from Yale University in 1958.

In 1966, McKinney was elected as a Republican to the Connecticut State House of Representatives, where he served two 2-year terms, including a stint as minority leader in his second term (1969–1970). In Congress, he served on the House Select Committee on Assassinations. During this time, he also served as a director of Bridgeport Hospital.

McKinney married Lucie Cunningham, the daughter of Briggs Cunningham and Lucie Beford, the granddaughter of a co-founder of Standard Oil.

In 1970, McKinney ran for the U.S. House and won. He served in the House as a moderate Republican until his death in Washington, DC. McKinney was a resident of Greens Farms, which is a part of Westport, Connecticut.

His death in 1987 was brought about by complications of AIDS. His physician speculated he became infected with HIV in 1979 from blood transfusions during heart surgery. However, since McKinney was actively if notopenly Bisexual [May, Clifford, D. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDD153DF93AA35756C0A961948260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Friends Say McKinney Had Homosexual Sex] May 9, 1987 New York Times] [Tapper, Jake [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2531627&page=2 A Brief History Of Gays In Government] 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures] it is also equally likely that he contracted it from unsafe sex, as little had been know about the transmission of HIV at the time.

He was the first U.S. congressman to die of the disease. After his death, the Congress renamed the Salt Meadow National Wildlife Refuge in Connecticut to the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. He is also widely known for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1986, which provides federal money for shelter programs.

His son John McKinney is now the State Senator from Fairfield and is minority leader of the Connecticut State Senate. He is rumored to be a future congressional candidate from the Fourth District.

References

External links

* [http://www.aidsinfobbs.org/articles/wallstj/87/79 Wall Street Journal Obituary as republished by Ben Gardiner]
* [http://www.bigbendcares.org/vaq/pages/mckinneys.shtml Virtual Aids Quilt Obituary]