Donald Clausen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia
In office January 22, 1963 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Clement W. Miller
Succeeded by	Douglas H. Bosco (Redistricting)
Constituency	1st district (1963–1975) 2nd district (1975–1983)
Personal details
Born	Donald Holst Clausen (1923-04-27)April 27, 1923 Ferndale, California, U.S.
Died	February 7, 2015(2015-02-07) (aged 91) Fortuna, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jessie Oleva Piper
Profession	Businessman
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Battles/wars	Pacific Theater,World War II

Donald Holst Clausen (April 27, 1923 – February 7, 2015) was an American businessman,World War II veteran, and politician who served ten terms as aU.S. Representative fromCalifornia from 1963 to 1983.

Born inFerndale, California, Clausen graduated from elementary and high schools of Ferndale,^[1] where he was an honors student and lettered five sports: tennis, track, basketball, football and baseball as well as being thedrum major of the school band.^[2]

He attendedSan José State University,California Polytechnic State University (inSan Luis Obispo, California),Weber State University (inOgden, Utah), andSaint Mary's College of California.^[1] He took part in theU.S. NavyV5 Aviation Cadet Program. He served as acarrier pilot in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of theSecond World War from 1944 to 1945,^[1] flyingF4U Corsair aircraft.^[2] Post-war, Clausen helped found theDel Norte County Airport,^[2] and served as a member of the board of supervisors ofDel Norte County, California, from 1955 to 1962.^[1] He ran two companies inCrescent City, his insurance business, Clausen Associates, and Clausen Flying Service, an air ambulance service, and it was from Crescent City that he served Congress.^[1]

Clausen was elected as aRepublican to theEighty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death ofUnited States RepresentativeClement Woodnutt Miller (who had been re-elected posthumously), and to the nine succeeding Congresses (January 22, 1963 – January 3, 1983).^[1]

Clausen authored the bill creating the Lady Bird Johnson Grove in the Redwood National Park.^[2] Former presidentLyndon Johnson andLady Bird Johnson, sitting presidentRichard Nixon, and future presidentRonald Reagan and many other federal and local dignitaries attended the dedication of the grove.^[2] Clausen said that this was his proudest accomplishment.^[2] Clausen voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1964,^[3] and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.^[4] He voted for the initial House Resolution for theCivil Rights Act of 1968 but voted against the accepting the final Senate amendments to the Act.^[5][6]

He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to theNinety-eighth Congress in 1982, narrowly losing toDemocratDouglas H. Bosco.^[1] He served as director, special programs, Federal Aviation Administration from 1983 to 1990 and was a resident ofSanta Rosa, California, after his Congressional tenure ended.^[1]

The Don Clausen Fish Hatchery inSonoma County^[7] was named in his honor and the Redwood National Park Bypass on US Highway 101 was renamed the Don Clausen Highway in 1996 by act of the California Legislature due to his efforts at obtaining appropriations for building that road and the Redwood National Park Visitor Center.^[8]

Clausen died in a hospital on February 7, 2015, inFortuna, California, from complications ofdiabetes,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart and lung disease.^[9][10] Hiscongressional papers are archived atHumboldt State University library^[11] and his congressional desk and other office memorabilia are exhibited at theFerndale Museum.

 This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.

• 1923 births
• 2015 deaths
• Federal Aviation Administration personnel
• California Polytechnic State University alumni
• San Jose State University alumni
• Weber State University alumni
• Saint Mary's College of California alumni
• County supervisors in California
• People from Ferndale, California
• Businesspeople from California
• United States Navy pilots of World War II
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• 20th-century United States representatives
• People from Santa Rosa, California
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• Military personnel from Sonoma County, California

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress