William B. Saxbe

William B. Saxbe
70th United States Attorney General
In office January 4, 1974 – February 2, 1975
President	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Elliot L. Richardson Robert Bork (acting)
Succeeded by	Edward H. Levi
United States Senator from Ohio
In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1974
Preceded by	Frank J. Lausche
Succeeded by	Howard Metzenbaum
11th United States Ambassador to India
In office February 3, 1975 – November 20, 1976
President	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Daniel P. Moynihan
Succeeded by	Robert F. Goheen
Ohio Attorney General
In office 1963–1969
Governor	Jim Rhodes
Preceded by	Mark McElroy
Succeeded by	Paul W. Brown
In office 1957–1959
Governor	C. William O'Neill
Preceded by	C. William O'Neill
Succeeded by	Mark McElroy
Personal details
Born	William Bart Saxbe (1916-06-24)June 24, 1916 Mechanicsburg, Ohio, U.S.
Died	August 24, 2010(2010-08-24) (aged 94) Mechanicsburg, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ardath Louise Kleinhans (1940-2010; his death)
Children	William Bart Saxbe, Jr. Charles Rockwell "Rocky" Saxbe Juliet Louise "Juli" Saxbe Spitzer
Alma mater	Ohio State University
Profession	Politician
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army Air Corps
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War

William Bart "Bill" Saxbe (/ˈsæks.biː/; June 24, 1916 – August 24, 2010) was an American politician affiliated with the Republican Party, who served as the U.S. Senator from Ohio, and was the Attorney General under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, and as the U.S. Ambassador to India.

At the time of his death, Saxbe was an oldest living Republican Senator and the second-oldest living Senator overall (after Harry F. Byrd, Jr., of Virginia).

Early life and career

Saxbe's law offices, in Mechanicsburg, Ohio.

Saxbe was born in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, to Faye Henry (née Carey) "Maggie" Saxbe, and Bart Rockwell Saxbe.

He received a bachelor's degree, from the Ohio State University, Class of 1940, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, during World War II, from 1940 to 1945, and Korean War, from 1951 to 1952.

When he returned from World War II, he entered Ohio State University law school. However, while still in law school, he ran for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1947, and won. In 1948, when Saxbe was near the end of second term, he received a law degree.

He remained in the Ohio National Guard and was on active duty during the Korean War, from 1951 to 1952. He was discharged from the reserve with the rank of colonel in 1963. He served as the Ohio House majority leader in 1951 and 1952, and as speaker of the House in 1953 and 1954.

Higher political office

In 1957, Saxbe was elected Ohio Attorney General, defeating Democrat Stephen M. Young. He was re-elected three times and held that office until 1968. In this capacity, Saxbe argued the murder case of Doctor Sam Sheppard before the United States Supreme Court in 1966. He went up against Sheppard's attorney F. Lee Bailey.

He was a member of the Ohio Crime Commission from 1967 to 1968. In 1968, Saxbe was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating the Democratic candidate, former Ohio Rep. (1965–67) John J. Gilligan. He served in the Senate until January 4, 1974, when he was appointed U.S. Attorney General by President Nixon. Saxbe was the permanent replacement for Elliot Richardson, who had been fired by Nixon during the "Saturday Night Massacre" at the height of the Watergate scandal. Saxbe took over from Solicitor General Robert Bork, who had served as acting Attorney General following the "Massacre".

There was some minor controversy regarding Saxbe's appointment and the Ineligibility Clause of the Constitution. That provision states that a legislator cannot be appointed to an executive position during the same term that the legislature had voted to increase the salary of said position. Nixon addressed the problem by having Congress reduce the salary of the Attorney General to $35,000, as it was before Saxbe's term in the Senate began. This maneuver had only occurred once before, when Senator Philander C. Knox had been appointed Secretary of State in 1909, and has since become known as the "Saxbe fix". Because there was no perception that anything intentional had been done to benefit Saxbe, the matter was largely ignored.

As Attorney General under Nixon, Saxbe oversaw the antitrust suit that broke the Bell System telephone monopoly.

Gilligan, who had been elected Governor of Ohio in 1970, appointed Howard Metzenbaum to fill out Saxbe's term. Later that year, former astronaut John Glenn, another Democrat, was elected to replace Saxbe.

Saxbe was served as U.S. Attorney General for the first few months of the Presidents Nixon and Ford's Administration, before the stepping down in early 1975, when he was appointed United States Ambassador to India. He served in that capacity until 1977. After that, Saxbe returned to Mechanicsburg and resumed the practice of law.

Personal life

In 1940, Saxbe married the former Ardath Louise "Dolly" Kleinhans. They had three children: William Bart Saxbe, Jr., Juliet Louise "Juli" Saxbe Spitzer, and Charles Rockwell "Rocky" Saxbe. Charles Saxbe served four terms in Ohio House of Representatives, and later as an attorney in private practice.

Saxbe was known for his quips. Asked about Sen. Robert Dole, he commented that Dole was so unpopular with his fellow senators that he "couldn't sell beer on a troop ship."

He died in his hometown of Mechanicsburg, Ohio at the age of 94 in August 2010.

External links

• United States Congress. "William B. Saxbe (id: S000096)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Appearances on C-SPAN