Melvin Price
Melvin Price | |
|---|---|
F. Edward Hebert | |
| Succeeded by | Les Aspin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Melvin Price January 1, 1905 Quartermaster Corps |
| Years of service | 1943–1944 |
Charles Melvin Price (January 1, 1905 – April 22, 1988) was a member of the United States House of Representatives for over 40 years, from 1945 to his death. He represented Metro East, the Illinois portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Early life
Charles Melvin Price was born in
United States House of Representatives
He was elected to Congress in his own right in 1944.
Most notably, he served as the chairman of the United States House Committee on Armed Services between 1975 and 1985. He lost this position at the beginning of the 99th United States Congress. Overthrowing a committee chairman was not a common occurrence at that time, but a majority of the House Democratic Caucus seemed to feel that the aged Price was no longer up to the job. In addition, Price, while liberal on domestic issues, was notably more supportive of defense spending than most Democrats. When it came to choosing Price's successor, the Caucus bypassed several other old hawkish members of the committee in favor of Les Aspin, who was not only much younger than Price and other more senior members, but also seemed closer in his defense policy preferences to the majority of the Democratic Caucus.
During his time in Congress, he also chaired the
In the special election to succeed Price, fellow Democrat and chairman of the St. Clair County Board, Jerry Costello defeated Republican candidate Robert Gaffner. Costello took office August 9, 1988.[3] He was elected to a full term that November with 53% of the vote.[4]
See also
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)
References
- ^ Barrett, Edward J. (ed.). Illinois Blue Book 1945-1946. p. 124. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ Rangel, Jesus (April 23, 1988). "Representative Melvin Price, 83, Is Dead of Cancer After 22 Terms". New York Times.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - IL District 21 - Special Election Race - Aug 09, 1988".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - IL District 21 Race - Nov 08, 1988".
External links
- Congressional Biographical Dictionary entry
- Melvin Price at Find a Grave
- Louisa H. Bowen Special Collections and University Archives at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville houses Congressman Price's papers
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Chairs of the United States House Committee on Armed Services | ||
|---|---|---|
| Military Affairs Committee (1822–1947) |
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| Naval Affairs Committee (1822–1947) | ||
| Armed Services Committee* (from 1947) | ||
*Alternately named National Security in 104th and 105th Congresses. | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
