Abraham Alexander Ribicoff was an American Democratic Party politician from the state of Connecticut.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,056 |
18 Facts About Abe Ribicoff
2.
Abe Ribicoff represented Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives and Senate and was the 80th Governor of Connecticut and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in President John F Kennedy's cabinet.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,057 |
4.
Abe Ribicoff enrolled at New York University in 1928, then transferred to the University of Chicago after the Prentice Company made him the Chicago office manager.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,059 |
5.
Abe Ribicoff was elected as a Democrat to the 81st and 82nd Congresses, serving from 1949 to 1953.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,060 |
6.
Abe Ribicoff supported an amendment to the state constitution that enhanced the governing powers of local municipalities.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,061 |
7.
Easily reelected in 1958, Abe Ribicoff had by now become active on the national political scene.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,062 |
8.
Abe Ribicoff reportedly declined the position of attorney general for fear that he might create needless controversy within the emerging Civil Rights Movement because he was Jewish, and he instead chose to be secretary of health, education, and welfare.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,063 |
9.
Abe Ribicoff reflected that he had sought out the position of HEW Secretary mainly out of concern for education and "realized that the problems of health and welfare were so overriding that education was relegated to the back burner" during his tenure.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,064 |
10.
Abe Ribicoff served in the Senate from January 3,1963, until January 3,1981.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,065 |
11.
Abe Ribicoff supported Johnson at first but eventually turned against the Vietnam War and the president's management of it, believing that it drained badly needed resources away from domestic programs.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,066 |
12.
Abe Ribicoff allied with consumer advocate Ralph Nader in creating the Motor Vehicle Highway Safety Act of 1966, which created the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,067 |
13.
Abe Ribicoff spent the remaining years of his Senate career fighting for such issues as school integration, welfare and tax reform, and consumer protection.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,068 |
14.
Abe Ribicoff again refused, publicly stating that he had no ambitions for higher office.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,069 |
15.
Later in 1972, following the death of his wife, Abe Ribicoff married Lois Mell Mathes, who became known as "Casey".
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,070 |
16.
On May 3,1979, Abe Ribicoff announced his intention to retire at the end of his third term.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,071 |
17.
In 1981, Abe Ribicoff fulfilled his pledge to retire from the Senate and took a position as special counsel in the New York law firm of Kaye Scholer LLP and divided his time between homes in Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut and Manhattan.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,072 |
18.
Abe Ribicoff was co-chairman of the 1988 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
| FactSnippet No. 2,521,073 |