Javits, Jacob K. (Jacob Koppel), 1904-1986

Jacob Koppel Javits (May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Javits served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing New York's 21st congressional district from 1947 to 1954, as the 58th Attorney General of New York from 1955 to 1957, and as a U.S. Senator from New York from 1957 until 1981.

After graduating from New York University School of Law, he established a law practice in New York City. During World War II, he served in the United States Army's Chemical Warfare Department. Outraged by the corruption of Tammany Hall, Javits joined the Republican Party and supported New York Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia. He won election to the United States House of Representatives in 1946 and served in that body until 1954. In the House, Javits supported President Harry S. Truman's Cold War foreign policy and voted to fund the Marshall Plan. He defeated Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. in the 1954 election for Attorney General of New York, and defeated Democrat Robert F. Wagner Jr. in the 1956 United States Senate elections. Javits won re-election to the Senate in 1962, 1968, and 1974.

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