Sam Gibbons

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Sam Gibbons
Florida State Senate
In office 1959–1962
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
In office 1953–1958
Personal details
Born	Sam Melville Gibbons (1920-01-20)January 20, 1920 University of Florida School of Law
Profession	Attorney
Sam Gibbons's voice Sam Gibbons on granting Most Favored Nation status to China Recorded September 22, 1992

Sam Melville Gibbons (January 20, 1920 – October 10, 2012) was an American politician from the

in Congress for over 30 years.

Early life and education

Gibbons was born in

University of Florida School of Law

, graduating in 1947. He then joined four generations of his family practicing law in Tampa. He went on to marry Martha Hanley, and have three sons; Clifford Sam, Mark Hanley, and Timothy Melville. After 55 years of marriage, his wife died of cancer in 2002; Gibbons then married a recently widowed friend, Betty King Culbreath.

Military career

After the outbreak of

.

Gibbons and the rest of the

D-day

.

Political life

Gibbons was a member of the

.

He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1962 from a newly created district based in Tampa after defeating segregationist Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. in the Democratic primary and runoff elections, and was reelected 16 times. Gibbons voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964,^[1] but in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.^[2][3] The district changed numbers three times during his tenure, from the 10th (1963–1967) to the 6th (1967–1973) to the 7th (1973–1993) to the 11th (1993–1997). He usually skated to reelection in what was generally reckoned as the only Democratic bastion on Florida's Gulf Coast. However, in 1992, he was held to only 52 percent of the vote by Republican Mark Sharpe. Two years later, he defeated Sharpe again, only winning by 4,700 votes.

With Sharpe priming for yet another rematch in 1996, Gibbons opted not to run for an 18th term. He thus retired having never been defeated in 44 years as an elected official. He was succeeded by State Representative Jim Davis, whom he had endorsed as his successor.

Gibbons was acting chairman of the

from 1994 until the Democrats lost control of the House in 1995. Prior to leading the full committee, Gibbons chaired the subcommittee on trade. He was much more supportive of trade liberalization throughout his career than most House Democrats, who have leaned toward protectionism since the early 1970s.

Gibbons had a few verbal showdowns with the newly elected Republican congress during his last term. During a taped Ways and Means Committee hearing, after being denied the opportunity to speak several times, Gibbons stormed out of the room shouting about how the Democrats were being railroaded and given no time to speak. He compared the new Republicans to dictators and shouted that he had "to fight you guys 50 years ago," referring to Nazi Germany in World War II.

He retired from office in 1997. The United States Courthouse at 801 North Florida Avenue in Tampa was named in his honor.^[4]

Death

Gibbons died October 10, 2012, aged 92.^[5] He was interred at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park in Tampa.^[6]

References

External links

• Biographical Directory of the US Congress
• Gibbons & Company
• USF Oracle: "Creating a local alternative for learning"
• The University of South Florida Tampa Library Special & Digital Collections maintains the Papers of Congressman Sam Gibbons
• Appearances on C-SPAN

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by District Created	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 10th congressional district 1963–1967	Succeeded by J. Herbert Burke
Preceded by Paul G. Rogers	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 6th congressional district 1967–1973	Succeeded by Bill Young
Preceded by James A. Haley	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 7th congressional district 1973–1993	Succeeded by John Mica
Preceded by Jim Bacchus	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 11th congressional district 1993–1997	Succeeded by Jim Davis
Political offices
Preceded by Dan Rostenkowski Illinois	Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee 1994–1995	Succeeded by Bill Archer Texas
Preceded by Bill Archer Texas	Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee 1995–1997	Succeeded by Charles Rangel New York