William Knowland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| United States Senator fromCalifornia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office August 26, 1945 – January 3, 1959 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Hiram Johnson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Clair Engle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of theCalifornia State Senate from the16th district | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 7, 1935 – January 2, 1939 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Arthur Breed Sr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Arthur Breed Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the14th district | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 2, 1933 – January 7, 1935 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Frank Israel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Charles Wagner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | William Fife Knowland (1908-06-26)June 26, 1908 Alameda, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | February 23, 1974(1974-02-23) (aged 65) Guerneville, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Republican | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3, includingJoe, and 2 stepchildren | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Joseph R. Knowland (Father) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service |  United States Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1942–1945 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Major | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | Forward Echelon Communications Zone Fifteenth United States Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | World War II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William Fife Knowland (June 26, 1908 – February 23, 1974) was an American politician and newspaper publisher. A member of theRepublican Party, he served as aUnited States Senator fromCalifornia from 1945 to 1959. He wasSenate Majority Leader from August 1953 to January 1955 after the death ofRobert A. Taft, and would be the last Republican Senate Majority Leader untilHoward Baker in1981.
As one of the most powerful members of the Senate and with his strong interest in foreign policy, Knowland helped set national foreign policy priorities and funding for theCold War, the policy regarding Vietnam, Formosa, China, Korea and NATO, as well as other foreign policy objectives. He opposed sending American forces toFrench Indochina and was a sharp critic ofCommunist China underMao Zedong. Knowland represented the right wing of the party and considered some of PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower's policies too liberal.[1]
After the Republicans lost their majority in the1954 election, he served asMinority Leader from January 1955 to January 1959. Knowland voted in favor of theCivil Rights Act of 1957.[2][3] He was defeated in his1958 run forGovernor of California. He succeeded his father,Joseph R. Knowland, as theeditor-in-chief andpublisher of theOakland Tribune.
Knowland was born in the City ofAlameda,Alameda County, California.[4] His father,Joseph R. Knowland, was serving his third term as aUS Representative. He was the third child, with an older sister, Elinor (1895–1978), and a brother, Joseph Russell "Russ" Knowland Jr. (1901–1961).
His grandfatherJoseph Knowland (1833–1912) had made the family fortune in thelumber business. William F. Knowland was also a scion of theOakland Tribune fortune.[5] His mother, Elinor Fife Knowland, died on July 20, 1908, less than a month after his birth. His father's second wife, Emelyn S. West, raised Knowland as her own son.
A young Knowland made campaign speeches for the 1920 Republican ticket ofWarren G. Harding andCalvin Coolidge at the age of 12. He married at 19, became aCalifornia State Assemblyman at 25, entered theUS Senate at 37, and became a grandfather at 41.
Knowland, the president of the student body, graduated fromAlameda High School in the Class of 1925. He graduated with a political science degree in three and a half years from theUniversity of California, Berkeley in 1929. He was a member ofZeta Psifraternity and theOrder of the Golden Bear. California GovernorC. C. Young and University of California PresidentWilliam Wallace Campbell praised Knowland's political activities as a university student.
Knowland attended the1932 Republican National Convention. From the gallery, he watched the California delegation which included his father,Earl Warren,Louis B. Mayer and Marshall Hale. The delegates renominated PresidentHerbert Hoover and Vice PresidentCharles Curtis.
In November 1932, he was elected to the State Assembly, where he served for two years. In 1934 he won election to theCalifornia State Senate, where he served for four years. He did not seek re-election in 1938 but remained active in the California Republican Party. He was also influential on the national scene, serving as the chairman of the executive committee of theRepublican National Committee from 1940 to 1942. Knowland campaigned forWendell L. Willkie, the unsuccessful Republican nominee for presidentin 1940.
In June 1942, Knowland wasdrafted into theU.S. Army forWorld War II service.[6] After a few months service as aprivate andsergeant, he went throughOfficer Candidate School and was commissioned as asecond lieutenant.[6] He served as anaide-de-camp toBrigadier General Marcellus L. Stockton Jr., then attended the military government school to studycivil affairs.[6] He was sent toEurope in 1944 and landed inFrance a month afterD-Day.[6] Knowland served in France initially with theForward Echelon Communications Zone headquarters in France and Belgium, and later with theFifteenth United States Army headquarters in Germany.[6] During his military service, Knowland attained the rank ofmajor and was assigned civil affairs andpublic affairs duties that were in line with his civilian education and experience and his military training.[6]
Knowland received the following military awards:
 | American Campaign Medal |
 | European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal |
 | World War II Victory Medal |
 | Army of Occupation Medal |
Hiram Johnson, the seniorU.S. senator from California, died on August 6, 1945. On August 14, 1945, Governor Earl Warren appointed Knowland to fill Johnson's seat. Warren first offered the Senate seat to Joseph R. Knowland, who declined Warren's offer: "I lost the Senate Seat in 1914, I have the responsibility of theOakland Tribune, Bring my boy, Billy home." Still serving overseas, Knowland learned of his new job from an article inStars and Stripes; Knowland's wife Helen tried to telephone him with the news, but she couldn't get past the militarycensors, who said it was not essential government business.
Knowland accepted his appointment and it was effective with his return to the United States on August 26, 1945. He was sworn in as a freshman senator in the79th Congress on September 6, 1945, the day the Senate adjourned in memory of Hiram Johnson. He was assigned membership in the Commerce Committee, the Irrigation and Reclamation and Immigration Committee, and theSenate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program (theTruman Committee).
In 1946, in aspecial election for the last part of Johnson's term, Knowland defeatedDemocratWill Rogers Jr. by 334,000 votes. The special election featured a blank ballot, whereby electors had towrite in the name of their choice.[7] He also defeated Rogers in the general election by nearly 261,000 votes, winning a full term in the Senate in his own right.
Knowland became a caustic critic of theHarry S. Truman administration. He was publicly critical of the actions in theloss of China toCommunism and theKorean War. However, Knowland admired the former Senator fromMissouri personally. A firm believer in legislative authority under the US Constitution, Senate leader Knowland sometimes also was at odds with PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower wrote that Knowland "means to be helpful and loyal, but he is cumbersome" and described the Senator's foreign policy views, particularly on Red China, as "simplistic."[8] In his diaries, the publicly avuncular Eisenhower felt free to confide more critical assessments of his political acquaintances. "Knowland has no foreign policy, except to develop high blood pressure whenever he mentions 'Red China' ... In his case, there seems to be no final answer to the question, 'How stupid can you get?'"[9] Fellow conservative Arizona SenatorBarry Goldwater described Knowland as "a very determined man, and a very highly principled one, and as long as he and Eisenhower agreed on the legislation that Ike wanted, Bill would fight his head off for it."[10] In 1954, for example, Knowland voted in support of Eisenhower's initiatives 91 percent of the time.[11]
For his strong support forChiang Kai-shek and theNationalist government in China againstMao Zedong and theCommunists,[5] Knowland sometimes was called the "Senator fromFormosa" (now known as Taiwan). A keen opponent of China's accession to theUnited Nations, Knowland tangled with Indian statesmanV. K. Krishna Menon over the issue, leading the latter to acidly recommend psychiatric treatment to the former.[12] In later years, Knowland moderated his position, praising President Nixon's diplomatic overture to China in 1972.[13]
At the1948 Republican National Convention, Knowland made the nominating speech for Warren as the vice presidential candidate, and he was seen on the podium with presidential candidateThomas E. Dewey.
In the June 1952 primary election, Knowland "cross-filed," running for both the Republican and Democratic nominations. He got 2.5 million votes to 750,000 for his Democratic opponent,Clinton D. McKinnon, and won both nominations. In thegeneral election, he was opposed only by an "Independent Progressive." He won with 88% of the vote and carried 57 of the 58 counties.
The1952 Republican National Convention met in Chicago.General of the Army Eisenhower and U.S. Senator Robert A. Taft ofOhio were the two main candidates. On July 8, 1952, Taft asked Knowland if he was interested in the vice presidency. Eisenhower won the nomination and selected as his running mateRichard M. Nixon, who was serving as California's junior U.S. senator. On September 23, 1952, Nixon gave theCheckers speech, a response to allegations that Nixon had maintained a secret fund of political donations from business leaders. (It was reported that Knowland said after the Checkers speech, "I had to have my picture taken with that dirty bastard, crying on my shoulder!") Eisenhower's aides contacted Knowland and persuaded him to fly from Hawaii to join Eisenhower and be available as a potential replacement running mate. However, seeing public opinion, Eisenhower retained Nixon on the 1952 Republican ticket.
When Taft died on July 31, 1953, Knowland was chosen to succeed him as Senate Republican Leader (majority leader from 1953 to 1955, minority leader from 1955 to 1959). At age 45, he is the youngest senator to occupy the position of majority leader. The Republican majority during Knowland's stint as majority leader was tenuous. Taft's Senate seat was filled by a Democrat, which gave Democrats 48 seats compared to the Republicans' 47. One Senator,Wayne Morse of Oregon, who dropped his Republican affiliation to become an independent, pledged to vote with the Republicans on organizing the Senate in 1954 and brought the Republican tally to 48 seats. The constitutional provision for the Vice President to cast a tie-breaking vote gave Republicans a working majority to organize the Senate.
Knowland's Democratic counterpart wasLyndon B. Johnson of Texas. Knowland and Johnson shared a cordial and respectful political relationship, often working in tandem on policy and procedure, including co-authoring a resolution in 1957 in an unsuccessful attempt to limit the filibuster, the practice of allowing minority viewpoints to use everlasting debate to obstruct the passage of legislation. "To completely block the legislative process of government is too much power for any responsible person to want, and far too much power for any irresponsible person to have," Knowland said of the filibuster.[14] Knowland and Johnson crafted and passed, in the Senate, the watered down[15]Civil Rights Act of 1957. It was the first such law sinceReconstruction. After the bill was passed, Knowland wept because of the bill's perceived weakness in protecting civil rights.[16]
Knowland called the Senate the "most exclusive club of 96" (there were 48 states at the time). He was slow to criticize its most infamous member,Wisconsin's Republican junior SenatorJoseph McCarthy. In 1953, McCarthy questioned the "integrity and good faith" of US Secretary of StateJohn Foster Dulles, which led Knowland to denounce McCarthy publicly.[17] McCarthy was later condemned by the Senate for "conduct contrary to Senate traditions" in his vehement investigation of alleged communist infiltration of the US government.[18][19]
Amid speculation that Eisenhower might not run for re-election, Knowland briefly floated his candidacy forpresident in 1956, but he withdrew when Eisenhower decided to seek a second term.
Knowland was Temporary Chairman of the1956 Republican National Convention in theSan FranciscoCow Palace. On appointing Knowland as delegate to the Eleventh General Assembly of theUnited Nations in 1956, Eisenhower wrote: "Knowland brings to his leadership post an absolute, unflinching integrity that rises above politics. In the councils of government, he inspires faith in his motives and gives weight to his words."
Knowland had a long-running battle with Nixon, with whom he served in the Senate from 1951 to 1953, for influence inCalifornia Republican Party affairs. Nonetheless, he gave Nixon the constitutional oath forVice President of the United States on January 20, 1953, and again on January 21, 1957, on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol (the second inauguration was delayed a day because January 20, the normal date, was a Sunday).[20] In 1968, as Nixon crossed theBay Bridge fromSan Francisco toOakland, an aide pointed out theOakland Tribune Tower and Nixon replied, "Bastard."[21]
In 1958, Knowland decided to run forGovernor of California instead of re-election to the Senate. His father was shaken by the decision, as he cherished the Senate seat; voters had denied him California's other Senate seat in1914.
Knowland secured the Republican nomination for governor after a brutal contest with incumbentGoodwin J. Knight. In the "Big Switch," Knight agreed to run for Knowland's U.S. Senate seat while Knowland ran for governor. Many felt Knowland would use the governorship to control the California Republican delegation in 1960 and to try to deny Nixon the presidential nomination but get it himself.
A critical issue in the campaign was Proposition 18, aninitiative to enact aright-to-work law in California. Knowland endorsed the measure in excessive language, but Proposition 18 was highly unpopular, and the endorsement hurt Knowland. He was soundly defeated in thegeneral election by the Democratic nominee,California Attorney GeneralEdmund G. Brown by 1,029,165 votes. After dominating California politics for over half a century, many other California Republicans were also defeated for statewide offices, including Knight. Following the election, Knowland's political career was effectively over.
Among Joseph R. Knowland's protégés, RepresentativeJohn J. Allen Jr. lost his House seat toJeffery Cohelan, and Alameda County Supervisor Kent D. Pursel lost his race for the State Senate toJohn W. Holmdahl. To pay off some of Knowland's campaign debts, his father had to sell hisOakland Tribune radio station,KLX, to Crowell Collier Broadcasting. Knowland never again ran for any elective office.
Knowland's defeat all but entirely erased his prospects of being his party's 1960 presidential nominee.[22]
The1964 Republican National Convention, again in San Francisco's Cow Palace, nominatedBarry Goldwater for president. Knowland backed the Goldwater-Miller ticket and spoke for theArizona Senator across the country.
Knowland was the titular head of the California Republican Party from 1959 to 1967, when he passed the party leadership to the new governor,Ronald Reagan. In the 1966 California gubernatorial campaign, Reagan ran on a law-and-order message, while Knowland and his old California Republican rival Richard Nixon worked tirelessly behind the scenes, enabling Reagan to win two thirds of the primary vote overGeorge Christopher, the moderate Republican former mayor ofSan Francisco. The momentum from Reagan's successful primary win carried over to the general election, where he defeated incumbent Democratic GovernorPat Brown in a landslide.
Russ, Knowland's brother, died on October 6, 1961. Knowland became the sole successor to his father and to control of theOakland Tribune. Knowland became president, editor, and publisher of theOakland Tribune in 1966, after the death of his father. Knowland was typically called "Senator" by the staff after his return to the paper from Washington. He kept the editorial pages of theTribune solidly Republican.
However, he took steps to add a bipartisan bent to the news pages, including the appointment in 1969 of a political editor with Democratic Party leanings.[23] His son, Joseph W. Knowland, was Assistant Publisher with the position of Assistant General Manager.
In a cost-cutting move that ultimately hurt theOakland Tribune, the SouthernAlameda County andContra Costa County editions were trimmed. That opened the areas to Floyd Sparks (1900–1988), the owner of theHayward Daily Review, andDean Lesher (1902–1993), owner since 1947 of theContra Costa Times. In early 1968,Oakland Tribune circulation rose because the major San Francisco newspapers were on strike. When theSan Francisco Chronicle andSan Francisco Examiner returned,Tribune sales fell in home delivery and on-the-street sales.
As editor and publisher, Knowland took an interest in local affairs along with the job and was less concerned with national and foreign policy. During his tenure as newspaper executive,Oakland and theEast Bay Area were changing, with theFree Speech Movement atUC Berkeley, theBlack Panthers, and "white flight" to the suburbs.
He offered a $100,000 reward for the conviction of those responsible for the 1973 murder ofMarcus Foster. TheSymbionese Liberation Army (SLA) claimed responsibility. The SLA subsequently kidnappedPatricia Hearst andAtlanta Constitution editorJ. Reginald Murphy. Such acts made Knowland fearful for his own safety.
TheTribune turned 100 years old on February 21, 1974. Knowland spoke on the occasion: "For 100 years this newspaper has participated in the growth of Alameda and Contra Costa counties.... Now as we look into the future it becomes ever more important that newspapers here and in other cities keep the public adequately informed." He went to all departments on that Thursday. At the banquet at Goodman's Hall, GovernorRonald Reagan praised theTribune and the Knowland family.
TheOakland Tribune was sold in 1977 by the Knowland family. After four ownership changes, it is now a daily newspaper of theBay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary ofMediaNews Group.
William F. Knowland was married to Helen Davis Herrick, whom he had met in the sixth grade. They were married on New Year's Eve in 1926. They were divorced on March 15, 1972, citing irreconcilable differences, a quiet reference to his affairs. Knowland then married Ann Dickson on April 29, 1972, but the two were estranged by the end of that year.
He and Herrick had three children: Emelyn K. Jewett,Joseph William Knowland, and Estelle Knowland. He had two stepchildren, Kay and Steve Sessinghaus, from his marriage to Dickson.
On February 23, 1974, Knowland died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, an apparent suicide, at his summer home nearGuerneville, California. His body, along with a .32-caliber automatic pistol were found near the dock of the home, within theRussian River.[24] His personal life was in shambles; heavy gambling had taken all his money and he died owing over $900,000 (equivalent to $5,740,000 in 2024) to banks and impatient mobsters.[25]
At the Main Mausoleum of theMountain View Cemetery, inOakland, California on Floor I, M8J, N2, TI, Knowland is with his first wife, Helen Knowland Whyte (1907–1981) and her mother, Estelle Davis Herrick (1881–1963). Also contained are the remains of Ruth Lamb Caldwell Narfi (1909–2003) and her first husband, Hubert A. Caldwell (1907–1972) and second husband, Gaetano "Tani" Narfi (1905–1996)
At the Chapel of Memories inOakland, California, two tiers down from his father, Joseph R. Knowland in theSerenity Section Tier 4 Number 6, a double book urn has only one side inscribed, "U.S. Senator William F. Knowland, 1908–1974."
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| California Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frank Israel | Member of theCalifornia Assembly from the14th district 1933–1935 | Succeeded by Charles Wagner |
| California Senate | ||
| Preceded by Arthur Breed Sr. | Member of theCalifornia Senate from the16th district 1935–1939 | Succeeded by Arthur Breed Jr. |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from California 1945–1959 Served alongside:Sheridan Downey,Richard Nixon,Thomas Kuchel | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Majority Leader 1953–1955 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Minority Leader 1955–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Baby of the Senate 1945–1947 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromCalifornia (Class 1) 1946,1952 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromCalifornia (Class 1) 1952 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Republican Policy Committee 1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Republican Leader 1953–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of California 1958 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
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