Newton Steers

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Newton Steers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 8th district
In office
January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979
Preceded byGilbert Gude
Succeeded byMichael Barnes
Member of the Maryland Senate
In office
1971–1977
Preceded byThomas M. Anderson Jr.
Succeeded byHoward A. Denis
Personal details
Born
Newton Ivan Steers Jr.

(1917-01-13)January 13, 1917
Glen Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedFebruary 11, 1993(1993-02-11) (aged 76)
Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1957; div. 1974)​
Inge Gabriele Wirsich Irwin
​
​
(m. 1978)​
Children3, including Hugh Auchincloss Steers and Burr Steers
ResidenceBethesda, Maryland
Alma materYale University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationAttorney, Politician
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army Air Corps
Years of service1941–1946
Battles/warsWorld War II

Newton Ivan Steers Jr. (January 13, 1917 – February 11, 1993), was a U.S. Congressman who represented Maryland's 8th congressional district from January 3, 1977, to January 3, 1979.[1]

Early life[edit]

Newton Ivan Steers Jr. was born on January 13, 1917, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, to Newton Steers Sr. and Claire L. Steers. His father was president of the DuPont Film Manufacturing Corporation for seventeen years.[2] Steers was the youngest of five children born to his parents:[2] Helen Steers, who married George Van Trump Burgess,[3] Charlotte Steers, who married Paul Van Winkle,[3] Mrs. W. Breckinridge De Riemer,[2] and Margaret Steers, who married L. H. Brague Jr.[4]

Steers attended the White Plains, New York, public schools. He graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, in 1935, and received a B.A. from Yale University in 1939. He obtained a Certificate of Advanced Meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1943, and his J.D. degree from the Yale Law School in 1948.[5]

Career[edit]

Steers was admitted to the New York bar (1958), and later to the District of Columbia bar (1967), and worked with the DuPont company from 1939 to 1941. During World War II, he served in United States Army Air Corps from 1941 to 1946.[2] After the war, he worked with GAF Corp. from 1948 to 1951, and the United States Atomic Energy Commission from 1951 to 1953. He also became president of several investment companies in New York from 1953 through 1965.[1] Steers was said to have made his fortune during the 1950s through investing in mutual funds, forming the Atomic Development Mutual Fund in 1953 with a group of friends. The fund specialized in "securities of companies participating in activities resulting from the natural sciences."[6]

Political career[edit]

In 1962, Steers entered politics and was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1962 to the 88th Congress. He served as Maryland Republican State chairman from 1964 to 1966. In 1967, Gov. Spiro T. Agnew appointed Steers the Maryland State insurance commissioner, a post he held until 1970. That year, Steers became Maryland Assistant Secretary of Licensing and Regulation and a member of the Maryland State Senate, serving from 1971 to 1977. He served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1964 and 1984.[1]

In 1976, Steers was elected as a Republican to the 95th Congress over Democrat Lanny Davis and independent Robin Ficker, serving from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 1979. He ran for reelection in 1978 to the 96th Congress and lost to Democrat Michael D. Barnes, and unsuccessfully challenged Barnes in 1980. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for election as Lieutenant Governor of Maryland in 1982, losing to Democrat J. Joseph Curran, Jr. Steers was a resident of Bethesda, Maryland, until his death there in 1993.[1]

Personal life[edit]

In 1957, Steers married Nina Gore Auchincloss (born 1937), the daughter of Hugh D. Auchincloss (1897-1976) and Nina S. Gore (1903–1978). Nina S. Gore had previously been married to Eugene Vidal, with whom she had one child, the writer Gore Vidal, Nina Gore Auchincloss's half-brother. Hugh D. Auchincloss later married Janet Lee Bouvier, the mother of Jacqueline Kennedy, who became a stepsister to Nina Gore Auchincloss. Kennedy was matron of honor at the wedding and then-Sen. John F. Kennedy was one of the groomsmen.[6] Together, Steers and Nina Gore Auchincloss had three children:[1]

Steers and Auchincloss were divorced in 1974.[9] In 1978, he married Inge Gabriele (née Wirsich) Irwin, to whom he remained married until his death. Inge had a son, Kristof Andreas Irwin, from a previous marriage who became Steers's stepson. Steers died on February 11, 1993, at his home in Bethesda, Maryland after a long battle with cancer.[1]

Electoral history[edit]

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1976[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Newton Steers 111,274 46.82
Democratic Lanny Davis 100,343 42.22
Independent Robin Ficker 26,035 10.96
Total votes 237,652 100.00
Republican hold
Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1978[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael D. Barnes 81,851 51.27
Republican Newton Steers (Incumbent) 77,807 48.73
Total votes 159,658 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican
Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1980[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael D. Barnes (Incumbent) 148,301 59.33
Republican Newton Steers 101,659 40.67
Total votes 249,960 100.00
Democratic hold
Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1982[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael D. Barnes (Incumbent) 121,761 71.34
Republican Elizabeth W. Spencer 48,910 28.66
Total votes 170,671 100.00
Democratic hold

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Nawrozki, Joe (February 13, 1993). "Newton Steers Jr., former congressman, at 76". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "N. Steers, Headed Du Pont Film Unit". The New York Times. May 17, 1944. p. 19. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Scarsdale Inquirer Staff (July 18, 1930). "Mrs. Paul Van Winkle". Scarsdale Inquirer. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  4. ^ "Miss Steers Married to L. H. Brague Jr". The Berkshire Eagle. December 26, 1946. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  5. ^ "Steers, Jr., Newton Ivan". OurCampaigns. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Barnes, Bart (February 12, 1993). "Republican Newton I. Steers Jr. Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  7. ^ "Hugh Steers, 32, Figurative Painter". The New York Times. March 4, 1995. p. 25. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  8. ^ "Film; A Family's Legacy: Pain and Humor (and a Movie)", The New York Times, September 15, 2002.
  9. ^ "Mrs. Steers Wed to Michael Straight". The New York Times. May 2, 1974. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  10. ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 15, 1977). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  11. ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 1, 1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  12. ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 15, 1981). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 1980" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  13. ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 5, 1983). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1982" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.

External links[edit]

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 8th congressional district
1977–1979 		Succeeded by
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