Mathias, Charles McC. (Charles McCurdy), 1922-2010

Charles McCurdy Mathias, Jr. (R, Md) was a U.S. Representative and a Senator from Maryland, 1961-1987.

Mathias was born in Frederick, MD July 24 1922, attended Haverford College, and received the law degree from the University of MD in 1949. He served as a naval officer in the South Pacific during World War II, 1942-1946. Mathias was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates (1959-1960) and to the U.S. Congress, 1961-1969. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1968 where he served until his retirement in 1987. Mathias served on major committes in Congress including the Committee on Rules and Administration; Foreign Relations, Judiciary and Governmental Affairs; the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress; and the Joint Committee on Printing. As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Mathias had a central role in congressional efforts to control the spread of nuclear weapons and was a leading advocate of arms control legislation. He was anl adviser to the SALT II delegation; an observer at the START talks in Geneva; and was elected president of the North Atlantic Assembly in 1985. On national issues, he was an original sponsor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1965 and 1982 and the Senate leader of efforts to establish a national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He introduced the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and worked to strengthen amendments for the elderly and the handicapped. Charles Mc. Mathias, now a member of a Washington law firm, resides in Md.

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