John Anton Blatnik | |
|---|---|
 circa 1950s | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's8th district | |
| In office January 3, 1947 – December 31, 1974 | |
| Preceded by | William Pittenger |
| Succeeded by | Jim Oberstar |
| Member of theMinnesota Senate | |
| In office 1940–1944 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1911-08-17)August 17, 1911 Chisholm, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | December 17, 1991(1991-12-17) (aged 80) Forest Heights, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Gisela Hager Evelyn Castiglioni |
John Anton Blatnik (August 17, 1911 – December 17, 1991) was aUnited StatesCongressman fromMinnesota. He was a member of theMinnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), which is affiliated with theDemocratic Party.
Blatnik was born inChisholm, Minnesota, toSlovene immigrant parents.[1] He graduated from Winona State Teachers College (todayWinona State University) and worked as a chemistry teacher in Chisholm.
From 1940 to 1944, he served in theMinnesota State Senate and volunteered to serve in theUnited States Army Air Corps in 1942. While in the Army Air Corps (the predecessor to theAir Force), he was chief of theOffice of Strategic Services's mission withTito'sYugoslav partisans for almost a year.[2]
In 1946, Blatnik was elected to Congress representing Minnesota's 8th District in the northeastern part of the state, running on the newly unified ticket of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He was reelected 13 times without much difficulty. He served in the80th,81st,82nd,83rd,84th,85th,86th,87th,88th,89th,90th,91st,92nd, and93rd congresses, (January 3, 1947 – December 31, 1974).
In 1963, Blatnik, introduced a bill to makeLeif Erikson Day a nationwide observance. The following year Congress adopted this unanimously.
Blatnik voted for theCivil Rights Act of 1964.[3] He was an early supporter of theSaint Lawrence Seaway and helped develop the original legislation to build it. He served as chairman of the Public Works Committee (now known as theTransportation and Infrastructure Committee) during his last two terms in Congress. As chairman, he shepherded theFederal Water Pollution Control Act, better known as theClean Water Act, to passage in 1972.
Upon retirement, Blatnik endorsed his long-time administrative assistant,Jim Oberstar, to replace him in Congress; Oberstar won easily in the 1974 election.
In 1955, Blatnik married the former Gisela Hager. They had three children. Blatnik died in Forest Heights, Maryland on December 17, 1991. He was survived by his second wife, the former Evelyn Castiglioni.
The bridge forInterstate 535 crossing theSuperior Bay and theSaint Louis Bay betweenWisconsin andMinnesota was renamed theJohn A. Blatnik Bridge in his honor on September 24, 1971.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's 8th congressional district 1947–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by George Hyde Fallon Maryland | Chairman ofHouse Public Works Committee 1971–1974 | Succeeded by Robert E. Jones Jr. Alabama |
| Public Buildings and Grounds (1837–1947) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Rivers and Harbors (1883–1947) | ||
| Roads (1913–1947) | ||
| Flood Control (1916–1947) | ||
| Transportation and Infrastructure* (1947–) | ||
| Note | * Alternately namedPublic Works in 80th through 93rd Congresses andPublic Works and Transportation in 94th through 103rd Congresses. | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
