McKinney, Stewart B. (Stewart Brett), 1931-1987

Stewart Brett McKinney (January 30, 1931 – May 7, 1987) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he notably represented Connecticut's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 until his death from AIDS in Washington, D.C. in 1987.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in Connecticut, he graduated from the Kent School and attended Princeton University before enlisting in the United States Air Force. He attained the rank of sergeant, and completed his enlistment in 1955. McKinney then returned to college, and received a B.A. from Yale University in 1958. He raced cars and was involved in several car-related businesses, including Auto Interior Decorators, Inc. and Fairfield Firestone, and was president of a chain of tire stores called CMF Tires. He also owned Lantern Point Real Estate Development and other ventures. In 1966, McKinney was elected as a Republican to the Connecticut State House of Representatives, where he served two two-year terms from 1967 to 1971. He was minority leader in his second term.

In 1970, McKinney ran for the U.S. House and won. He served in the House, as a moderate Republican, until his death in Washington, D.C. He is widely known for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1986, which provides federal money for shelter programs. McKinney served on the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee, and is credited with coining the phrase "too big to fail", in connection with large banks. In Congress, he served on the House Select Committee on Assassinations. During this time, he also served as a director of Bridgeport Hospital.

McKinney's death in 1987 was brought about by complications of AIDS. His physician speculated that he became infected with HIV in 1979 as the result of blood transfusions during heart surgery. McKinney was known by friends to be bisexual, though his family said this was not the case, which raised the issue of how he had contracted the disease. Antigay prejudice at the time of McKinney's death in 1987 may have promoted a disingenuous approach to speculations on the cause of McKinney's HIV infection. After McKinney's death, Congress renamed the Salt Meadow National Wildlife Refuge in Connecticut the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge.