Studds, Gerry E. (Gerry Eastman), 1937-2006

Gerry Eastman Studds (May 12, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American foreign service officer, legislative assistant, teacher, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 12th (1973-1983) and 10th (1983-1997) congressional districts. who served from 1973 until 1997. He was the first openly gay member of Congress.

Born in Mineola, New York and raised in Cohasset, Massachusetts, he attended the public schools in Cohasset and Derby Academy in Hingham, Massachusetts before earning B.A. and M.A.T. degrees from Yale University. Following graduation, Studds was a foreign service officer in the State Department and then an assistant in the Kennedy White House, where he worked to establish a domestic Peace Corps. Later, he became a teacher at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. In 1968, he played a key role in U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy's campaign in the New Hampshire presidential primary. Studds made his first run for Congress in 1970, but lost to the incumbent Republican representative, Hastings Keith, in a close election. In 1972, with Keith not running for re-election, Studds won the 12th congressional district seat. He moved to the 10th district seat after redistricting in 1983.

...