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Sam Gibbons | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida | |
| In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | District established |
| Succeeded by | Jim Davis |
| Constituency | 10th district(1963–1967) 6th district(1967–1973) 7th district(1973–1993) 11th district(1993–1997) |
| Member of theFlorida State Senate | |
| In office 1959–1962 | |
| Member of theFlorida House of Representatives | |
| In office 1953–1958 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Samuel Melville Gibbons (1920-01-20)January 20, 1920 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | October 10, 2012(2012-10-10) (aged 92) Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Martha Hanley Betty King Culbreath |
| Education | University of Florida School of Law |
| Profession | Attorney |
Samuel Melville Gibbons (January 20, 1920 – October 10, 2012) was an American politician from thestate ofFlorida, who served in theFlorida State House of Representatives,Florida State Senate, and theU.S. House of Representatives. He represented the city ofTampa in Congress for over 30 years.
Gibbons was born inTampa, Florida on January 20, 1920. He went toRoosevelt Elementary School when he was a young child. The current-day auditorium is named after him. He graduated fromH. B. Plant High School, where he was part of JROTC, and then went on to theUniversity of Florida. After military service duringWorld War II, Gibbons attended theUniversity of Florida School of Law, graduating in 1947. He then joined four generations of his family practicing law in Tampa. He went on to marry Martha Hanley, and have three sons; Clifford Sam, Mark Hanley, and Timothy Melville. After 55 years of marriage, his wife died of cancer in 2002; Gibbons then married a recently widowed friend, Betty King Culbreath.
After the outbreak ofWorld War II, Gibbons joined theUnited States Army as asecond lieutenant in late 1941. He attained the rank ofcaptain in the101st Airborne before entering combat in June 1944. At 1:00 a.m. onD-day, June 6, 1944, Captain Gibbons,501st Parachute Infantry Regiment,101st Airborne Division, arrived by parachute nearCarentan,France, on theCotentin Peninsula. On June 13, 1944, the main German forces counterattacked south of Carentan, in a battle between German tanks and the American paratroopers lasting all day, 6 am to 10 pm, the paratroopers gave ground, defending in depth, and bent but did not break before restoring the pre-dawn line of defense. Of the 600 paratroopers that began that day fewer than 400 soldiers remained. Gibbons could count a dozen burning tanks from his view of the battlefield. The battle was portrayed in episode 2 ofBand of Brothers. On June 30 the 101st was withdrawn to England becoming the first battle-tested troops to return. He was later awarded theBronze Star for his actions inNormandy.
Gibbons and the rest of the101st went on to successfully take the first bridge inOperation Market Garden (described inCornelius Ryan's bookA Bridge Too Far). In December 1944 the 101st was in reserve when orders came down to load up on trucks and move toBastogne to hold and await resupply. Against very long odds the 101st held successfully with dwindling supplies, once famously telling the German commander "Nuts" in response to a surrender request. Several movies have been made concerning the "Battle of the Bulge." The 101st moved on to lead the way into Germany and eventually take Hitler's Eagle's Nest before meeting up with the advancing Red Army. Gibbons served in the European campaign until the end of the war. Shortly before German forces surrendered, Capt. Gibbons was promoted tomajor; however, a communications delay prevented Gibbons from learning of his promotion until after he had beenhonorably discharged. Upon returning home toFlorida he authored a memoir of his wartime service,I Was There. Gibbons was awarded the French Medal of Valor in 2004 at theNormandy American Cemetery and Memorial during the 60th anniversary ofD-day.
Gibbons was a member of theDemocratic Party and he served in theFlorida House of Representatives from 1953 to 1958. While in the state legislature, he spearheaded the effort to create theUniversity of South Florida. He then served in theFlorida Senate from 1959 to 1962 after beating the incumbentPaul Kickliter.
He was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1962 from a newly created district based in Tampa after defeating segregationistSumter de Leon Lowry Jr. in the Democratic primary and runoff elections, and was reelected 16 times. Gibbons voted against theCivil Rights Act of 1964,[1] but in favor of theVoting Rights Act of 1965 and theCivil Rights Act of 1968.[2][3] The district changed numbers three times during his tenure, from the 10th (1963–1967) to the 6th (1967–1973) to the 7th (1973–1993) to the 11th (1993–1997). He usually skated to reelection in what was generally reckoned as the only Democratic bastion on Florida's Gulf Coast. However, in 1992, he was held to only 52 percent of the vote by Republican Mark Sharpe. Two years later, he defeated Sharpe again, only winning by 4,700 votes.
With Sharpe priming for yet another rematch in 1996, Gibbons opted not to run for an 18th term. He thus retired having never been defeated in 44 years as an elected official. He was succeeded by State RepresentativeJim Davis, whom he had endorsed as his successor.
Gibbons was acting chairman of theHouse Ways and Means Committee from 1994 until the Democrats lost control of the House in 1995. Prior to leading the full committee, Gibbons chaired the subcommittee on trade. He was much more supportive of trade liberalization throughout his career than most House Democrats, who have leaned toward protectionism since the early 1970s.
Gibbons had a few verbal showdowns with the newly elected Republican congress during his last term. During a taped Ways and Means Committee hearing, after being denied the opportunity to speak several times, Gibbons stormed out of the room shouting about how the Democrats were being railroaded and given no time to speak. He compared the new Republicans to dictators and shouted that he had "to fight you guys 50 years ago," referring to Nazi Germany in World War II.
He retired from office in 1997. The United States Courthouse at 801 North Florida Avenue in Tampa was named in his honor.[4]
Gibbons died October 10, 2012, aged 92.[5]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by District Created | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 10th congressional district 1963–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 6th congressional district 1967–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 7th congressional district 1973–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 11th congressional district 1993–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Dan Rostenkowski Illinois | Chairman of theHouse Ways and Means Committee 1994–1995 | Succeeded by Bill Archer Texas |
| Preceded by Bill Archer Texas | Ranking Member of theHouse Ways and Means Committee 1995–1997 | Succeeded by Charles Rangel New York |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
