Amo Houghton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Stan Lundine |
| Succeeded by | Randy Kuhl |
| Constituency | 34th district (1987–1993) 31st district (1993–2003) 29th district (2003–2005) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Amory Houghton Jr. (1926-08-07)August 7, 1926 Corning, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 4, 2020(2020-03-04) (aged 93) Corning, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth West (1950–1988) Priscilla Dewey (1989–2012) |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Amory Houghton (father) Alanson B. Houghton (grandfather) |
| Education | Harvard University (BA,MBA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1944–1946 |
| Rank | Private first class |
| Unit | USSMacon Guantanamo Bay Naval Base |
| Battles/wars | World War II • Battle of the Caribbean |
Amory Houghton Jr. (August 7, 1926 – March 4, 2020) was an AmericanRepublicanpolitician from the U.S. state ofNew York. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and was a member of one of upstate New York's most prominent business and political families, theHoughtons.
The son ofAmory Houghton and Laura DeKay Richardson, and the grandson ofAlanson B. Houghton, Amory Houghton Jr. was born inCorning, New York.[1][2] He attendedSt. Paul's School inConcord,New Hampshire and was a member of the class of 1945.[3] Houghton later served as a member of the school's board of trustees.[3]
In 1944, Houghton enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps forWorld War II.[4] Assigned to USSMacon (CA-132) andGuantanamo Bay Naval Base, he took part with his unit in activities associated with theBattle of the Caribbean.[4] Houghton attained the rank ofprivate first class, and was discharged in 1946.[4]
He graduated fromHarvard University with aBachelor of Arts in 1950 and received hisMaster of Business Administration degree from Harvard in 1952.[5]
Houghton spent his business career with his family's company, Corning Glass Works (nowCorning Incorporated), a company founded in 1851 by his great-great-grandfather, Amory Houghton (1812-1882).[5] He joined the company in 1951, and worked as an accountant, process engineer, manufacturing foreman, and sales manager.[6] He joined the board of directors in 1955, became a vice president in 1957, and was appointed president in 1961.[5][6] From 1964 to 1983, Houghton served as Corning's chairman and chief executive officer.[5]
In addition to Corning Glass, his other business interests included membership on the board of directors ofIBM,First National City Bank (laterCitigroup),Procter & Gamble,Genentech, andB. F. Goodrich.[2][7]
In 1986, Houghton was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives as aRepublican.[8] Houghton reportedly was among the richest members of the House, with a wealth of $475 million.[9]
Houghton had a moderate voting record and was founder of theRepublican Main Street Partnership, which he formed to encourage a more moderate stance to public issues.[10] He was frequently called upon to serve as a broker between Democratic and Republican members on critical issues since he was a champion for improving civility between political parties.[11] While he voted with Republicans on most issues relating to the budget, he also voted with the Democratic Party on issues of environmental protection, civil rights and funding for the arts and education.[12]
He served on the International Relations and Ways and Means Committees.[13]
He was one of four Republicans to vote against all the impeachment articles against President Clinton in 1998.[14]
In 2001, Houghton was one of only three Republicans to vote against permanently repealing the estate tax.[15]
On October 10, 2002, he was among the six House Republicans who voted againstthe resolution authorizing theinvasion of Iraq.[16]
Houghton was one of only three Republicans to vote against an initial version of theJobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, the second of the two majorBush tax cuts.[17] However, he voted for the final version of the bill.
Throughout his career Houghton was one ofUpstate New York's most well known and respected members of Congress; he was usually re-elected with more than 65 percent of the vote.[18] He clashed occasionally with the increasinglySouthern, socially conservative orientation of the party.[19] For example, Houghton was one of the most vocalpro-choice Republicans in Congress.[20]
On April 7, 2004, Houghton announced his intention not to seek a tenth term in Congress.[19] On January 3, 2005, Houghton's term expired and he was succeeded byJohn R. "Randy" Kuhl.[21] He was a member of the ReFormers Caucus ofIssue One.[22] In 2016[23] and 2018, he spoke out against the presidency ofDonald Trump and stated that he would support efforts to remove him from office.[24]
Corning Inc. announced on March 5, 2020, that Houghton had died the previous day.[25][26]
In 1950, Houghton married Ruth Frances West ofWaccabuc, New York.[27] Their children include Amory, Robert, Sarah, and Quincy.[28] After their 1988 divorce, in 1989 Houghton married Priscilla B. Dewey (1924–2012).[29]
Amos was aChristian who attended ChristEpiscopal Church inCorning, New York, where he taught Sunday School throughout the 1950s. He also served as a trustee of Episcopal Theological School inCambridge, Massachusetts, which later merged intoEpiscopal Divinity School.[30]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 34th congressional district 1987–1993 | Constituency abolished |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 31st congressional district 1993–2003 | |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 29th congressional district 2003–2005 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
