22 Facts About Clair Engle

Clair Engle was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from California from 1959 until his death in 1964.

Clair Engle was born in Bakersfield, to Fred Clair Engle, a rancher who had been a teacher and a lawyer, and his wife, Carita.

Clair Engle's parents named him after his aunt, who had assisted in his birth, and his name would become the source of many folksy stories over the years.

Clair Engle then attended University of California Hastings College of the Law, and graduated in 1933.

Clair Engle was elected to a full term in 1944 and re-elected to the following six Congresses, serving until January 3,1959.

Clair Engle was dubbed the "flying congressman" and once flew solo to his home in California from the Hybla Valley Airport in Alexandria, Virginia.

Clair Engle was sometimes jokingly referred to as "Congressman Fireball" because of his activity, his colorful language, the location of the geologically active Mount Lassen in his district, and the clouds of smoke from his cigars.

Clair Engle sponsored several major expansions of the California Central Valley Project as well as the Saline Water Conversion Research Program, and a low-interest loan program relating to small irrigation projects.

Clair Engle won election as a Democrat to the US Senate in 1958, the year of a Democratic landslide.

Clair Engle defeated the incumbent governor Goodwin J Knight, thus becoming the first Democrat elected to that Senate seat in the 20th century.

Clair Engle succeeded William F Knowland, who had given up the seat in an unsuccessful run for governor, losing to Pat Brown.

Clair Engle worked with Senator Thomas Kuchel to pass the San Luis water project, the West Coast electric power intertie and the Point Reyes National Seashore.

Clair Engle promoted federal public transit assistance and civil rights legislation to assist his urban constituents.

However, on August 24,1963, Senator Clair Engle underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor, which left him partially paralyzed, forcing him to miss several Senate sessions, and he ultimately withdrew from his re-election campaign.

Clair Engle was given permission to speak, but was unable to do so; a colleague presented the resolution instead.

Clair Engle did not return to the Senate floor for nearly two months.

Clair Engle officially ended his re-election campaign on April 28,1964, just four days after undergoing his second brain operation in eight months.

Clair Engle chose not to endorse either of his Democratic challengers, California State Controller Alan Cranston or former presidential press secretary Pierre Salinger.

On June 10,1964, during the roll call for the historic, successful effort to break the filibuster on what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when the clerk reached "Mr Clair Engle", there was no reply.

Clair Engle died in Washington, DC, a month and a half later, aged 52.

Clair Engle was survived by his parents, his wife and his daughter from his first marriage, Yvonne Engle Childs.

Clair Engle's papers are held in the library at California State University, Chico.