Gejdenson, Samuel, 1948-

Samuel "Sam" Gejdenson was born to two Holocaust survivors on May 20, 1948, at a Displaced Persons Camp in Eschwege, Germany . His mother, a Lithuanian Jew, and his father, a Belarussian Jew, met in the camp following World War II. Gejdenson later moved with his parents to Bozrah, Connecticut, where they engaged in dairy farming. Gejdenson attended Mitchell College following high school, receiving an Associates degree before attending the University of Connecticut . After receiving his Bachelor's degree from UConn in 1970, Gejdenson began work for the FAI Trading Company before becoming the president of the Montessori School in Norwich, Connecticut shortly thereafter.

Gejdenson began his politcal career as the chairman for the Bozrah Town Committee, and was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1974. He would serve the people of Bozrah until 1978, leaving after two terms to take a position in the administration of Connecticut Governor Ella T. Grasso . In 1980 Gejdenson became the first child of Holocaust survivors to be elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing Connecticut's 2nd Congressional district as a Democrat. Gejdenson served the people of eastern Connecticut in Congress until 2000 when he was defeated for reelection by Repbulican, Rob Simmons .

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