Lee Metcalf | |
|---|---|
 Metcalf in 1978 | |
| Permanent acting president pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office June 15, 1963 – January 3, 1969* | |
| Preceded by | Carl Hayden |
| Succeeded by | Richard Russell Jr. |
| United States Senator fromMontana | |
| In office January 3, 1961 – January 12, 1978 | |
| Preceded by | James E. Murray |
| Succeeded by | Paul G. Hatfield |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1961 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Mansfield |
| Succeeded by | Arnold Olsen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lee Warren Metcalf (1911-01-28)January 28, 1911 Stevensville, Montana, U.S. |
| Died | January 12, 1978(1978-01-12) (aged 66) Helena, Montana, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Donna Hoover |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) University of Montana, Missoula (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| *While no term was designated for this role and Metcalf technically held it until his death, in effect he was appointed as permanent acting president pro tempore while Hayden was ill, and Hayden's term ended in 1969. | |
Lee Warren Metcalf (January 28, 1911 – January 12, 1978) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. A member of theDemocratic Party, he served as aU.S. representative (1953–1961) and aU.S. senator (1961–1978) fromMontana. He was the first of Montana's U.S. senators to be born in the state, and was permanent actingpresident pro tempore of the Senate, the only one to hold that position, from 1963 until his death in 1978.
Metcalf was born inStevensville,Montana, to Harold E. and Rhoda (née Smith) Metcalf.[1] His father was the cashier of the First State Bank of Stevensville.[2] He was raised on his family's farm.[3] He graduated from Stevensville High School in 1928, and then studied at theUniversity of Montana (then known asMontana State University, which is now the name of a different institution) where he played first-string tackle on the freshmanfootball team.[1]
After attending Montana State for one year, Metcalf moved toCalifornia and spent a year working for the Los Angeles City School Gardens.[2] He then enrolled atStanford University, where he received aBachelor of Arts degree in history and economics in 1936.[4] During his time at Stanford, he was a member of theSigma Chi fraternity and played football underPop Warner.[1] Also in 1936, he received his law degree fromUniversity of Montana Law School and was admitted to the bar.[5]
Metcalf then commenced the practice of law, opening an office in Stevensville.[2] In November 1936, he was elected as aDemocrat to theMontana House of Representatives fromRavalli County.[4] As a state legislator, he introduced bills to establish a thirty-centminimum wage and to require mining companies to pay their employees for the time they spent in the mines after their shifts.[2] He served as AssistantAttorney General of Montana from 1937 to 1941, after which he resumed his law practice.[5] In 1938, he married Donna Hoover; the couple had one son, Jerry, who also served as a state representative.[3]
In 1942, Metcalf enlisted in theU.S. Army, and was commissioned after attending officers' training school.[5] He participated in theInvasion of Normandy as a staff officer with theFifth Corps.[1] He also participated in later European campaigns, such as theBattle of the Bulge, with the1st Army,Ninth Infantry Division, and60th Infantry Regiment.[3] Following the war, he served as a military government officer inGermany, where he helped draft ordinances for the first free local elections, set up a civilian court and occupation police system, and supervise repatriation camps for displaced persons.[4] He was discharged from the Army as afirst lieutenant in April 1946.[5]
In 1946, when JusticeLeif Erickson resigned to run againstBurton K. Wheeler for theU.S. Senate, Metcalf was elected an associate justice of theMontana Supreme Court.[2] He served one six-year term in that office.
In 1952, whenMike Mansfield decided to run for the Senate againstZales Ecton, Metcalf successfully campaigned for theU.S. House of Representatives inMontana's 1st congressional district.[5] In the general election, he narrowly defeated hisRepublican opponent, former U.S. AttorneyWellington D. Rankin, by a margin of 50%-49%.[6] He was subsequently re-elected to three more terms in 1954, 1956, and 1958, never receiving less than 56% of the vote.[1]
During his tenure in the House, Metcalf served on theEducation and Labor Committee (1953–1959),Interior and Insular Affairs Committee (1955–1959),Select Astronautics and Space Exploration Committee (1958), andWays and Means Committee (1959–1960).[1] He became known as one of Congress's "Young Turks" who promoted liberal domestic social legislation and reform of congressional procedures.[7] He introduced legislation to provide health care to the elderly ten years before the creation ofMedicare.[8] He earned the nickname "Mr. Education" after sponsoring a comprehensive bill providing for federal aid to education.[2] He also voted against legislation that would have raised grazing permits on federal lands, and led the opposition to a bill that would have swapped forested public lands for cutover private lands.[2] He was elected chairman of theDemocratic Study Group in 1959.[2]
In1960, after Democratic incumbentJames E. Murray decided to retire, Metcalf ran for Murray's seat in the U.S. Senate.[5] He won the Democratic nomination overJohn W. Bonner, a former Governor of Montana.[1] In the general election, he narrowly defeated RepublicanOrvin B. Fjare, a conservative former U.S. Representative, by a margin of 51%-49%.[9]
Regarded as "a pioneer of the conservation movement,"[8] Metcalf worked to protect the natural environment and regulate utilities. He helped pass theWilderness Act of 1964, and supported the creation of theGreat Bear Wilderness and theAbsaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.[8] In 1962, he introduced a "Save Our Streams" bill to preserve natural recreation facilities and protect fish and wildlife from being destroyed by highway construction.[7] He was a longtime member of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission.[4] He was also active on the issue of education. He was a leading supporter of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the effort to extend the G.I. Bill's educational benefits to a new generation of veterans, and the development of legislation to improve federally aided vocational education.[1] ThePeace Corps was established under leadership of Metcalf and Senator Mansfield.[8]
He was reelected after competitive campaigns in1966 and1972. In 1977, Metcalf announced that he would not seek a fourth Senate term in1978.[3]
In June 1963, because of the illness ofPresident pro temporeCarl Hayden (D-AZ), Senator Metcalf was designatedPermanent Acting Presidentpro temporeof the United States Senate to carry out Hayden's duties at this time. No term was imposed on this designation, so Metcalf retained it until he died in office in 1978. He was the only person to hold this title.
Permanent Acting President pro tem should not be confused with the office ofDeputy President pro tempore.
At age 66, Metcalf died of aheart attack in his sleep at his home inHelena on January 12, 1978,[10][11][12] and was cremated; his ashes were scattered in one of his favorite areas in the wilderness ofMontana. His death was overshadowed by the death of his colleague fromMinnesota, formerVice PresidentHubert H. Humphrey the next day.
In 1978, Montana's Ravalli National Wildlife Refuge was renamed theLee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge.[13] In 1983, by act of Congress, theLee Metcalf Wilderness area was created in southwestern Montana in his honor.
Metcalf was ranked fifteenth on a list of the 100 Most Influential Montanans of the Century in the newspaperThe Missoulian.[14]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Justice of the Montana Supreme Court 1947–1952 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana's 1st congressional district 1953–1961 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromMontana (Class 2) 1960,1966,1972 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Montana 1961–1978 Served alongside:Mike Mansfield,John Melcher | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate Permanent Acting 1963–1969 | Succeeded by |
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| Two at-large seats (1913–1919) |
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| One at-large seat (1993–2023) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
