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Peter H. Dominick | |
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| United States Ambassador to Switzerland | |
| In office April 25, 1975 – July 10, 1975 | |
| President | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Shelby Cullom Davis |
| Succeeded by | Nathaniel Davis |
| United States Senator fromColorado | |
| In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1975 | |
| Preceded by | John A. Carroll |
| Succeeded by | Gary Hart |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromColorado's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1963 | |
| Preceded by | Byron Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Donald Brotzman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Peter Hoyt Dominick (1915-07-07)July 7, 1915 Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | March 18, 1981(1981-03-18) (aged 65) Hobe Sound, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Fairmount Cemetery, Denver |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Yale University (BA,LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | United States Army Air Corps |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Peter Hoyt Dominick (July 7, 1915 – March 18, 1981) was an American diplomat, politician and lawyer fromColorado. A member of theRepublican Party, he served in theUnited States Senate from 1963 to 1975. His uncle,Howard Alexander Smith, was aU.S. Senator from New Jersey from 1944 to 1959.
Born inStamford, Connecticut on July 7, 1915, Dominick graduated fromSt. Mark's School in 1933, fromYale University in 1937 as a member ofScroll and Key, andYale Law School in 1940. He practiced law inNew York City with the law firm Carter, Ledyard and Milburn from 1940 until 1942.[1] Dominick then joined theUnited States Army Air Corps as anaviation cadet at the outset of American fighting inWorld War II. He served until his separation from military service in 1945, as acaptain. He briefly recommenced his legal practice in New York City in 1946, before moving that same year toDenver, Colorado, where he continued to practice law, eventually becoming a founding partner of the law firm Holland & Hart.[2][3]
Dominick entered politics when he was elected as aRepublican to theColorado House of Representatives, where he served from 1957 to 1961.
In 1960, he made a successful run for theUnited States House of Representatives, defeating incumbent freshmanDemocratByron L. Johnson, and he abandoned his law career in 1961.
After a single term in the House of Representatives, Dominick was elected to theUnited States Senate, defeating one-term incumbent DemocratJohn A. Carroll, 53.6% to 45.6%. He was reelected in 1968 overStephen L. R. McNichols, a formerGovernor of Colorado, 58.6% to 41.5%. Dominick voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1964 and1968,[4][5] as well as theVoting Rights Act of 1965 and the confirmation ofThurgood Marshall to theU.S. Supreme Court.[6][7] Dominick was also a supporter of major environmental legislation, supporting the enactment of theWilderness Act in 1964, theNational Environmental Policy Act in 1969, theClean Air Act of 1970, theClean Water Act of 1972, and theEndangered Species Act of 1973.[8]
Senator Dominick served as chairman of theNational Republican Senatorial Committee in the92nd Congress from 1971 to 1973. In a good election year for Democrats, Dominick was defeated for a third term in 1974 byGary Hart, 57.2% to 39.5%. By then Dominick was suffering frommultiple sclerosis.[9]
He also didn't help his case by saying, when asked a question about the value of U.N. Food Programs to certain countries, that Ugandans "would rather eat the people than the food", and by callingWatergate "insignificant."[10]
After leaving the Senate at the end of his term in 1975, he was appointedAmbassador to Switzerland byPresidentGerald Ford, but served only briefly.
He resided inCherry Hills Village, Colorado until his death atHobe Sound, Florida, on March 18, 1981. Senator Dominick's body was interred inFairmount Cemetery, Denver.
Already a competent pilot, Peter Dominick solicited service with the US Army Air Corps on December 9, 1941. Unbeknownst to his family, Dominick had kept a meticulous journal of the entirety of his service during the war. Chronicling his flying "The Hump", the journal was discovered by his children and published by youngest son, Alexander Dominick, in 2018.[11]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromColorado's 2nd congressional district 1961–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromColorado (Class 3) 1962,1968,1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Response to the State of the Union address 1968 Served alongside:Howard Baker,George H. W. Bush,Gerald Ford,Robert Griffin,Mel Laird,Bob Mathias,George Murphy,Chuck Percy,Dick Poff,Al Quie,Charlotte Reid,Hugh Scott,Bill Steiger,John Tower | Vacant Title next held by Donald Fraser,Scoop Jackson,Mike Mansfield,John McCormack,Patsy Mink,Ed Muskie,Bill Proxmire |
| Preceded by | Chair of theNational Republican Senatorial Committee 1971–1973 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Colorado 1963–1975 Served alongside:Gordon L. Allott,Floyd K. Haskell | Succeeded by |
| New office | Ranking Member of theSenate Budget Committee 1974–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Switzerland 1975 | Succeeded by |
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