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Charlotte Reid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Commissioner of theFederal Communications Commission | |
| In office October 8, 1971 – July 1, 1976 | |
| President | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's15th district | |
| In office January 3, 1963 – October 7, 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Noah M. Mason |
| Succeeded by | Cliffard D. Carlson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charlotte Leota Thompson (1913-09-27)September 27, 1913 Kankakee, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 25, 2007(2007-01-25) (aged 93) Aurora, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Illinois College |
Charlotte Thompson Reid (September 27, 1913 – January 25, 2007) served in theU.S. Congress as aU.S. representative forIllinois from 1963 to 1971. She was a member of theRepublican Party.
Charlotte Leota Thompson attendedAurora, Illinois public schools andIllinois College. Early in her career she was a featured vocalist on theNBC radio programBreakfast Club withDon McNeill; she appeared under the professional name of "Annette King".
On January 1, 1938, Charlotte Thompson married Frank R. Reid Jr. He died in 1962. She was the mother of four children including Illinois State RepresentativePatricia Reid Lindner.
Charlotte's husband Frank sought to follow in the footsteps of his father,Frank R. Reid, who served six terms in Congress as a U.S. Representative from Illinois. In 1962 Frank Jr. won the Republican nomination, beating out eight others for the seat, only to die in August before he could run in the regular election. Because of Charlotte's involvement in her husband's campaign, she was appointed to run in his place. She won election to Congress from the 15th District of Illinois in November 1962, and was the only new woman member of congress elected that year. Her first Congress, the88th, contained 12 female Representatives and two female Senators. Reid was re-elected for four successive terms.
Her initial assignments were on theCommittee on Interior and Insular Affairs and theCommittee on Public Works. Reid also served on the House Republican Policy Committee and theCommittee on Standards of Official Conduct.
Reid's committee assignments also included theCommittee on Appropriations, where she was appointed to two of its Subcommittees: Foreign Operations, and Labor-Health, Education and Welfare. Reid served as one of the first six Congressional members on the Board of Governors of theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and served on the Board of Governors of theCapitol Hill Club. She addressed the1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco and the1968 Republican National Convention in Miami. She was the only member of Congress from Illinois to vote against theCivil Rights Act of 1964.[1] Reid later voted in favor of theVoting Rights Act of 1965 and theCivil Rights Act of 1968.[2][3]
In 1965, during her second term, Reid paid for her own trip to Vietnam to speak with her constituents from Illinois, including 23 men on an aircraft carrier in the China Sea. When she returned she contacted their families. Reid said that the experience was "one of the most gratifying things that happened to me in Congress."
In 1968, Reid became the first woman to deliver a State of the Union response.[4]
In 1969, Reid became the first woman to wear pants on the floor of the House of Representatives.[5]
Reid left Congress in 1971, in the middle of her fifth term, to become a Commissioner of theFederal Communications Commission. She was only the second woman to be appointed to the agency in its 37-year history.[6] While on the FCC, she served as the Commissioner of Defense, focused on emergency preparedness and defense mobilization.
After leaving government in 1976, Reid was involved with both public and private boards:
Honorary degrees included Doctor of Laws fromJohn Marshall Law School,Illinois College, andAurora University.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 15th congressional district 1963–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Response to the State of the Union address 1968 Served alongside:Howard Baker,George H. W. Bush,Peter H. Dominick,Gerald Ford,Robert P. Griffin,Thomas Kuchel,Melvin Laird,Bob Mathias,George Murphy,Richard Harding Poff,Charles H. Percy,Al Quie,Hugh Scott,William A. Steiger,John Tower | Vacant Title next held by Donald M. Fraser,Henry M. Jackson,Mike Mansfield,John William McCormack,Patsy Mink,Edmund Muskie,William Proxmire |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
