Floyd K. Haskell
| Floyd Kirk Haskell | |
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| United States Senator from Colorado |
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| In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1979 |
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| Preceded by | Gordon L. Allott |
| Succeeded by | William L. Armstrong |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 7, 1916 Morristown, New Jersey |
| Died | August 25, 1998 (aged 82) Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
Floyd Kirk Haskell (February 7, 1916 – August 25, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1973 to 1979.
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[edit] Early life and career
Floyd Haskell was born in Morristown, New Jersey, to Edward Kirk and Gladys (née Clarkson) Haskell.[1] His father was an investment banker.[2] He attended Harvard University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1937.[3] During college, he played on the football, rugby, and soccer teams and was president of the Rocky Mountain Club.[4][5][6] He received a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1941.[3] That same year he married Eileen Nicoll, to whom he remained married until their divorce in 1976; they had three daughters, Ione, Evelyn, and Pamela.[7]
During World War II, Haskell served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1945, seeing action in Asia and reaching the rank of major.[3] He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for his intelligence work.[7] Following his military service, he was admitted to the bar in 1946 and moved to Denver, Colorado, where he worked as a tax lawyer.[2]
In 1964, Haskell was elected as a Republican to the Colorado House of Representatives from Arapahoe County, serving until 1969.[3] As a state legislator, he became assistant majority leader in 1967 and also served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a member of the House Education and Finance Committees.[7] In 1970, he left the Republican Party and became a Democrat in protest of President Richard Nixon's invasion of Cambodia.[2]
[edit] U.S. Senate
In 1972, Haskell decided to challenge three-term Republican incumbent Gordon L. Allott for a seat in the U.S. Senate. He defeated state Senator Anthony F. Vollack (later chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court) in the Democratic primary.[8] In the general election, he narrowly won a four-way race between Allott and candidates from the Raza Unida Party and the American Independent Party, receiving only 49% of the vote.[9] He defeated his closest competitor, Senator Allott, by less than 10,000 votes while President Richard Nixon carried Colorado by over 267,000 votes.[9]
Haskell was sworn into the Senate on January 3, 1973.[3] He served as a member of the Senate Finance and Energy and Natural Resources Committees, where he earned a reputation as a tax reformer and advocate for the environment.[2] He supported the regulation of auto emissions, the Panama Canal treaties, and alternative sources of energy.[10] In 1978, he was defeated for re-election by Representative William L. Armstrong, losing by a margin of 59%-40%.[11]
[edit] Later life and death
After his Senate career, Haskell established his residence in Washington, D.C., where he practiced law before joining Common Cause and a bipartisan group of retired lawmakers calling for campaign finance reform and an end to congressional gridlock.[10] In 1979, he married Nina Totenberg, the legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio; they remained married until his death in 1998.[7]
Haskell suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1994 after falling on ice near his home in Washington.[10] He died of pneumonia four years later, at age 82, while returning from a vacation with his wife in Maine.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Unkelbach, Evelyn Cary". Hartford Courant. 2005-03-25. http://articles.courant.com/2005-03-25/news/0503240793_1_evie-labrador-retrievers-dog-magazines.
- ^ a b c d e Alvarez, Lizette (1998-08-26). "Floyd Haskell, 82, Ex-Senator From Colorado". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/26/us/floyd-haskell-82-ex-senator-from-colorado.html.
- ^ a b c d e "HASKELL, Floyd Kirk, (1916 - 1998)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000317.
- ^ "CRIMSON SOCCER TEAM TREKS TO JUNGLELAND". The Harvard Crimson. 1935-11-09. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1935/11/9/crimson-soccer-team-treks-to-jungleland/?print=1.
- ^ "Listing of Harvard Clubs". The Harvard Crimson. 1951-06-21. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1951/6/21/listing-of-harvard-clubs-pblondon-clubb/?print=1.
- ^ "Lining Them Up". The Harvard Crimson. 1935-10-22. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1935/10/22/lining-them-up-ptheyre-taking-their.
- ^ a b c d "MEMORIALIZING FORMER UNITED STATES SENATOR AND STATE REPRESENTATIVE FLOYD K. HASKELL". Colorado General Assembly. http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/sess1999/hres99/hjm1001.htm.
- ^ Rosenthal, Jack (1972-09-10). "Primary Season Stretches On, With 9 More Tuesday". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1972". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1972election.pdf.
- ^ a b c "Floyd Haskell Dies". The Washington Post. 1998-08-26. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/junkie/links/haskell.htm.
- ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1978election.pdf.
| United States Senate | ||
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| Preceded by Gordon L. Allott |
United States Senator (Class 2) from Colorado 1973–1979 Served alongside: Peter H. Dominick, Gary Hart |
Succeeded by William L. Armstrong |
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