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Everett Dirksen BIOGRAPHICAL FACTS:

Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was an American politician of the Republican Party. He represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives (1933–1949) and U.S. Senate (1951–1969).

As Senate Minority Leader for a decade, he played a highly visible and key role in the politics of the 1960s, including helping to write and pass the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, both landmarks of civil rights legislation. He was one of the Senate's strongest supporters of the Vietnam War and was known as "The Wizard of Ooze" for his oratorical style.

Early life

Dirksen was born in Pekin, Illinois, a small city near Peoria. He was the son of German immigrants Johann Friedrich Dirksen and his wife Antje Conrady. Everett had a fraternal twin, Thomas Dirksen, and a brother named Benjamin Harrison, a nod to the Republican leanings of his father. The boys' father died when the twins were nine years old.

Congressman, 16th Illinois District, 1933–1949

After losing in the 1930 Republican primary, Dirksen won the nomination and the congressional seat in 1932, and was re-elected seven times. His support for many New Deal programs marked him as a moderate, pragmatic Republican. During World War II, he lobbied successfully for an expansion of congressional staff resources to eliminate the practice under which House and Senate committees borrowed executive branch personnel to accomplish legislative work. Dirksen was able to secure the passage of an amendment to the Lend-Lease bill by introducing a resolution while 65 of the House's Democrats were at a luncheon. The amendment provided that the Senate and the House could, by a simple majority in a concurrent resolution, revoke the powers granted to the President.

U.S. Senator, 1950–1969

Dirksen was elected to the Senate in 1950 when he unseated Senate Majority Leader Scott Lucas. In the campaign, the support of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy helped Dirksen to gain a narrow victory. As an ally of McCarthy, Dirksen tried but failed to get him to apologize for his misdeeds in order to stave off censure in 1954. Dirksen voted against censure. Dirksen's canny political skill, rumpled appearance, and convincing, if sometimes flowery, overblown oratory (he was hence dubbed by his critics "the Wizard of Ooze") earned him a prominent national reputation.

Death

In August 1969, Dirksen was found to have an asymptomatic peripherally located mass in the upper lobe of the right lung, detected on chest x-rays. He entered Walter Reed Army Hospital for surgery, which was undertaken on September 2. A right upper lobectomy was performed successfully for what proved to be a lung cancer (adenocarcinoma). Mr. Dirksen initially did well, but developed progressive complications and bronchopneumonia. He suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest and died on September 7, 1969, at age 73.

Family

Dirksen's widow, Louella, died of cancer on July 16, 1979. Their daughter Joy, the first wife of Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee, died of cancer on April 24, 1993.

Everett Dirksen SENATE CAREER:

Dirksen was elected to the Senate in 1950 when he unseated Senate Majority Leader Scott Lucas. In the campaign, the support of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy helped Dirksen to gain a narrow victory. As an ally of McCarthy, Dirksen tried but failed to get him to apologize for his misdeeds in order to stave off censure in 1954. Dirksen voted against censure. Dirksen's canny political skill, rumpled appearance, and convincing, if sometimes flowery, overblown oratory (he was hence dubbed by his critics "the Wizard of Ooze") earned him a prominent national reputation.

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