Specter, Arlen, 1930-2012

SPECTER, Arlen, a Senator from Pennsylvania; born in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kans., February 12, 1930; attended the public schools; graduated, University of Pennsylvania 1951; graduated, Yale University Law School 1956; served in the United States Air Force 1951-1953; admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1956 and commenced practice in Philadelphia; assistant district attorney of Philadelphia 1959-1964; assistant counsel, President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (Warren Commission) 1964; district attorney of Philadelphia 1966-1974; resumed the practice of law 1974-1980; admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1979 and to the District of Columbia bar in 1983; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1980; reelected in 1986, 1992, 1998 and in 2004; changed party affiliation, becoming a Democrat on April 30, 2009; unsuccessful candidate for renomination to the Senate in 2010, and served from January 3, 1981, to January 3, 2011; chair, Select Committee on Intelligence (One Hundred Fourth Congress), Committee on Veterans Affairs (One Hundred Fifth and One Hundred Sixth Congresses, One Hundred Seventh Congress [January 20, 2001-June 6, 2001], One Hundred Eighth Congress), Committee on the Judiciary (One Hundred Ninth Congress); died October 14, 2012; interment in Shalom Memorial Park, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

<p>Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965 then a Republican from 1965 until 2009, when he switched back to the Democratic Party. First elected in 1980, he is the longest-serving senator from Pennsylvania, having represented the state for 30 years.</p>

<p>Specter was born in Wichita, Kansas, to emigrant Russian/Ukrainian Jewish parents. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and served with the United States Air Force during the Korean War. Specter later graduated from Yale Law School and opened a law firm with Marvin Katz, who would later become a federal judge. Specter served as assistant counsel for the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy and helped formulate the "single-bullet theory". In 1965, Specter was elected District Attorney of Philadelphia, a position that he held until 1973.</p>

<p>During his 30-year Senate career, Specter staked out a spot in the political center. In 2006, he was selected by Time as one of America's Ten Best Senators. Specter lost his 2010 re-election bid in the Democratic primary to former U.S. Navy vice admiral Joe Sestak, who then lost to Republican Pat Toomey in the general election. Toomey succeeded Specter on January 3, 2011.</p>

<p>Diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in early 2005, he continued his work in the Senate while undergoing chemotherapy. He died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on October 14, 2012.</p>