Stuyvesant Wainwright | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1961 | |
| Preceded by | Ernest Greenwood |
| Succeeded by | Otis G. Pike |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1921-03-16)March 16, 1921 New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 6, 2010(2010-03-06) (aged 88) Wainscott, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Carroll Livingston Wainwright Edith Catherine Gould |
| Relatives | Loudon Wainwright Jr. (cousin) George Jay Gould (grandfather) |
| Education | Westminster School |
| Alma mater | Yale Law School |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Stuyvesant Wainwright II (March 16, 1921 – March 6, 2010) was aRepublican member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromNew York.[1]
Wainwright was born inNew York City, the son ofCarroll Livingston Wainwright (1899–1967) andEdith Catherine Gould (1901–1937),[2] daughter of financierGeorge Jay Gould (1864–1923) and Edith M. Kingdon (1864–1921). His siblings were Carroll L. Wainwright Jr. (1925–2016)[3] and Caroline Wainwright (1924–1969), and his paternal grandparents were Stuyvesant Wainwright (1863–1930)[4] and Caroline Smith Snowden (1865–1960). His grandmother later married Carl F. Wolff.[2] He was a great-nephew of GeneralJonathan Mayhew Wainwright (1883–1953), a four star-general who was the hero ofBataan and commander of the U.S. forces in thePhilippines during World War II.[5] His uncle, Loudon Wainwright, was the father ofLoudon Wainwright Jr. (his cousin), and the grandfather ofLoudon Wainwright III, the singer and songwriter, himself the father ofRufus Wainwright,Martha Wainwright, andLucy Wainwright Roche.[3]
In 1927, his family moved toEast Hampton, New York, where they built an imposing house called "Gulf Crest," that was valued at $350,000 in 1937. His parents divorced in 1932, and his mother married Sir Hector MacNeal, the Scottish shipowner.[2][6] He attended Lawrenceville School in 1936–37, playing on the tennis team and residing in Dickinson House.[7] He then attended theWestminster School,Simsbury, Connecticut, and graduated fromYale Law School in 1947.[8]
On January 30, 1942, at the age of 20, he left Yale and enlisted as a private in theUnited States Army. He attended officers' candidate school and, on December 30, 1943, went overseas duringWorld War II. He rose through the ranks and became a commanding officer of theOffice of Strategic Services, a wartimeintelligence agency and predecessor of the modernCentral Intelligence Agency.[9] He returned to the U.S. on June 10, 1945, and spent the last three months of his service as an adviser on intelligence coordination in the War Department inWashington, D.C. He was honorably discharged from the Army as a Captain on December 13, 1945. After the War, he served in theActive Army Reserve[8] and retired as aLieutenant Colonel in 1960.[5]
He resumed his legal studies at Yale, was graduated in 1947, was admitted to theNew York State Bar in 1948, and began practicing in New York City, where he was a partner in the firm of Walker,Beale, Wainwright & Wolf.[5]
In1952, he was elected to Congress in the Republican wave that flipped theHouse,Senate, andPresidency fromDemocrat to Republican.[10] Wainwright went on to serve four consecutive terms as the Representative forNew York's 1st congressional district[11] from January 3, 1953, until January 3, 1961, in the83rd,84th, and85th United States Congresses.[8]
While serving in Congress, he was a member of theHouse Armed Services Committee,[12]Foreign Affairs Committee, theEducation and Labor Committee and theMerchant Marine Committee.[5] Wainwright voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1957 and1960.[13][14]
He narrowly lost a re-election bid in 1960 againstDemocratOtis G. Pike.[15][16]
After leaving the House of Representatives, he taught political science atRutgers University from 1960 to 1961. Afterwards, he resumed the practice of law with the firm Battle, Fowler, Lidstone, Jaffin, Pierce & Kheel.[5] From 1975 until 1979, he was president of the Miltope Corporation and a director of the corporation from 1975 to 1985.[8]
In 1941, Wainwright was married to Janet Isabel Parsons (1920–2000),[17] the daughter of Thomas Crouse Parsons.[18][19] Before their divorce, they were the parents of:[5]
Until his death he was a resident ofWainscott, New York and lived onGeorgica Pond,[5] acensus-designated place that roughly corresponds to thehamlet with the same name in thetown ofEast Hampton inSuffolk County, New York, on theSouth Fork ofLong Island.[22]
He served on the Boards of theSouthampton Hospital, Guild Hall of East Hampton, the vestry of St. Luke's Church in East Hampton, theMaidstone Club of East Hampton, and theUnion Club of the City of New York. He was also a member of theNew York Young Republican Club,[23] theCruising Club of America, and theRoyal Bermuda Yacht Club.[5]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 1st congressional district 1953–1961 | Succeeded by |
