Boggs, Lindy, 1916-2013

Lindy Boggs was the wife of Thomas Hale Boggs Sr., U.S. Representative for the 2nd Congressional District of Louisiana (1941-1943, 1947-1973). She succeeded him in office after his death, serving as U.S. Representative (1973-1992) and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican (1997-2001).

Thomas Hale Boggs was born in 1914 in Long Beach, Miss. When he was five his family moved to the New Orleans suburb of Gretna. He received his B.A. degree in journalism from Tulane University in 1935, and graduated from Tulane Law School in 1937. In 1938, he married Corinne ("Lindy") Morrison Claiborne. They had three children. Hale Boggs practiced civil law in New Orleans, and was active in a reform organization called the People's League. In 1940 he ran as a Democratic candidate for Congress from the Second Louisiana District, which included most of New Orleans and four adjacent parishes. He was defeated in his bid for reelection in 1942 and returned to private practice, enlisted in the naval reserve. Returning to politics after World War II, Boggs won back his congressional seat. He rose steadily in the ranks of House leadership. In the 1960s he worked with prominent Democrats for the Great Society domestic programs. While volunteering to campaign for a colleague, the plane Boggs was flying in from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska, disappeared on Oct. 16, 1972. The plane was never found, and Boggs and three others were presumed dead.

Lindy Boggs, was born in 1916 in Brunswick Plantation, La., with the original name Corinne Morrison Claiborne. She received her B.A. degree from Sophie Newcomb College, Tulane University in 1935, and pursued advanced studies in law and religion at numerous institutions. With her husband Hale Boggs, she raised three children; she also was an important staff member during his political career. When Hale Boggs was presumed dead, Lindy Boggs was elected to succeed him and was continuously reelected as Representative until her resignation in 1991. Her interests as a Congresswoman included legislation to prohibit discrimination against women. She served on the Appropriations Committee and helped found the Congresswomen's Caucus. In 1976, she presided over the Democratic National Convention in New York, becoming the first woman to chair a national party convention. After 1984, she was the only white member from a majority African-American district. In 1997 she was appointed by President Clinton as the first female ambassador to the Vatican, a post she served until 2001.