Clair Engle
United States Senator fromCalifornia
In office January 3, 1959 – July 30, 1964
Preceded by	William Knowland
Succeeded by	Pierre Salinger
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's2nd district
In office August 31, 1943 – January 3, 1959
Preceded by	Harry L. Englebright
Succeeded by	Harold T. Johnson
Member of theCalifornia State Senate from the8th district
In office January 4, 1943 – August 31, 1943
Preceded by	D. Jack Metzger
Succeeded by	Louis G. Sutton
District Attorney ofTehama County
In office 1934–1942
Preceded by	M. J. Cheatham
Succeeded by	Arthur H. Ludeman
Personal details
Born	(1911-09-21)September 21, 1911 Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Died	July 30, 1964(1964-07-30) (aged 52) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Oak Hill Cemetery,Red Bluff, California
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	California State University, Chico University of California Hastings College of the Law

Clair Engle (September 21, 1911 – July 30, 1964) was an American politician who served as aUnited States senator fromCalifornia from 1959 until his death in 1964. A member of theDemocratic Party, he is best remembered for participating in the vote breaking thefilibuster of theCivil Rights Act of 1964 in the U.S. Senate while partially paralyzed and unable to speak, shortly before his death from a brain tumor.^[1] Engle previously served in theCalifornia State Senate from January to August 1943 and in theU.S. House of Representatives from August 1943 until January 1959.

Engle was born inBakersfield, to Fred Engle, a rancher who had been a teacher and a lawyer, and his wife, Carita. His parents named him after his aunt, who had assisted in his birth, and his name would become the source of many folksy stories over the years.

Like his two brothers, he was active in outdoor activities and attendedpublic schools inShasta andTehama counties. His fellow students atRed Bluff High School elected him their student body president.

In 1928, he enrolled atChico State Teachers College, and he graduated in 1930. He then attendedUniversity of California Hastings College of the Law, and graduated in 1933. Although Engle had a reputation for straight-laced religiosity at both institutions, he eloped to marry his first wife, Hazel.^[2] They divorced in 1948 and Engle married his second wife, Lucretia Caldwell, a congressional secretary fromSan Jose.^[3]

Admitted to the Californiabar in 1933, Engle set up a practice inCorning and soon ran forDistrict Attorney ofTehama County. Just 23 years old at the time of his victory, he would hold that office from 1934 to 1942.

In 1942, he won election to theCalifornia Senate, representing Tehama,Glenn andColusa counties but ended up serving in that body for little more than a few months. His main accomplishment was passing a law to allow the conversion of unused fairgrounds in order to house migrant farmworkers and ease a severe labor shortage.^[2]

On August 31, 1943, Engle was elected as aDemocrat to representCalifornia's 2nd congressional district in the78th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death ofHarry Lane Englebright. Although the district had more Republican than Democratic voters, Englebright's widow and another candidate split the Republican vote.

Engle was elected to a full term in 1944 and re-elected to the following six Congresses, serving until January 3, 1959. At that time, the district consisted of 18 counties in northern California, and only the district in Nevada was physically larger. Thus, Engle used his pilot's license to campaign and meet with constituents. He was dubbed the "flying congressman" and once flew solo to his home in California from the Hybla Valley Airport inAlexandria, Virginia.^[4]

He was sometimes jokingly referred to as "Congressman Fireball" because of his activity, his colorful language, the location of the geologically activeMount Lassen in his district, and the clouds of smoke from his cigars.^[3]

In theU.S. House of Representatives he became Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on War Claims for the79th Congress and Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs for the84th Congress and the85th Congress.

He sponsored several major expansions of the CaliforniaCentral Valley Project as well as the Saline Water Conversion Research Program, and a low-interest loan program relating to small irrigation projects. He also became known as a key supporter of theTaft–Hartley Act, which did not prevent him from being nominated by both parties when he sought re-election.^[5]

Engle won election as aDemocrat to theU.S. Senate in the1958, the year of a Democratic landslide. He defeated the incumbent governorGoodwin J. Knight, thus becoming the first Democrat elected to that Senate seat in the 20th century. He succeededWilliam F. Knowland, who had given up the seat in an unsuccessful run for governor, losing toPat Brown.

Engle began his term on January 3, 1959. He worked with SenatorThomas Kuchel to pass the San Luis water project, the West Coast electric power intertie and thePoint Reyes National Seashore. Engle also promoted federal public transit assistance and civil rights legislation to assist his urban constituents.^[2]

However, on August 24, 1963, Senator Engle underwent surgery to remove abrain tumor, which left him partially paralyzed, forcing him to miss several Senate sessions, and he ultimately withdrew from his re-election campaign. On April 13, 1964, the gravity of Engle's health problems was evident as he attempted to introduce a resolution calling for a delay in constructing theBodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant atBodega Head, located in Sonoma County. He was given permission to speak, but was unable to do so; a colleague presented the resolution instead. Engle did not return to the Senate floor for nearly two months.

Engle officially ended his re-election campaign on April 28, 1964, just four days after undergoing his second brain operation in eight months. He chose not to endorse either of his Democratic challengers, California State ControllerAlan Cranston or former presidential press secretaryPierre Salinger. That decision came because state Democratic leaders refused to endorse him unless he provided details concerning his health.^{[citation needed]}

On June 10, 1964, during the roll call for the historic, successful effort to break thefilibuster on what would become theCivil Rights Act of 1964, when the clerk reached "Mr. Engle", there was no reply. The tumor had robbed Engle of his ability to speak. Slowly lifting an arm, he pointed to his eye, thereby signaling his affirmative vote ("aye").^[6][7] Thecloture vote was 71–29, four votes more than the two thirds required to end the filibuster.^[8] Nine days later, the Senate approved the Act itself.

Engle died in Washington, D.C., a month and a half later, aged 52. He was survived by his parents, his wife and his daughter from his first marriage, Yvonne Engle Childs. The Senate Chaplain led the memorial service atFort Myer, Virginia, which Chief Justice Earl Warren attended. Approximately 3,000 mourners attended his funeral in Red Bluff at the First Methodist Church. He was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.^[3]

Trinity Lake, in California's Trinity County, was renamed for him, but the name Trinity Lake continued to be commonly used; eventually, the lake's original name was officially restored.^{[citation needed]} The city ofShasta Lake named a park and community center after him.^[9] His papers are held in the library atCalifornia State University, Chico.^[10]

• List of notable brain tumor patients
• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1950–1999)

• California State University, Chico, Clair Engle Collection, MSS 177, Special Collections, Meriam Library, California State University, Chico.California State University, Chico, Claire Engle Collection, MSS 177, Special Collections, Meriam Library.[1]^{[permanent dead link]}
• University of California, Davis, Department of Animal Science, Memorial Book Listing Clair Engle's legislative accomplishments[2]
• Oral history interview[3]

• 1911 births
• 1964 deaths
• District attorneys in California
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• Politicians from Bakersfield, California
• California State University, Chico alumni
• University of California College of the Law, San Francisco alumni
• Democratic Party California state senators
• Democratic Party United States senators from California
• Deaths from brain cancer in Washington, D.C.
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 20th-century members of the California State Legislature
• 20th-century United States senators
• 20th-century United States representatives

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