28 Facts About Phillip Burton

Phillip Burton was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from California from 1964 until his death in 1983.

Phillip Burton was a member of the Democratic Party and represented California's 5th congressional district.

Phillip Burton was a key author of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and he worked to expand access to healthcare and education for all Americans.

Phillip Burton was a strong advocate for environmental protection, and he played a key role in the creation of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California.

Phillip Burton was involved in the establishment of the Point Reyes National Seashore, a protected area of coastline and wilderness in Northern California.

Phillip Burton was known for his ability to build coalitions and get things done, and he was respected by both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents in California.

Phillip Burton died in 1983 at the age of 56, and he was succeeded in Congress by his wife, Sala Phillip Burton, who served until her own death in 1987.

Phillip Burton was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Mildred and Thomas Phillip Burton, who was a salesman and physician.

Phillip Burton attended Washington High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from George Washington High School, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, in 1944.

Phillip Burton worked as a lawyer and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1956.

Phillip Burton was a member of the United States Air Force during both World War II and the Korean War.

Phillip Burton was elected to the California State Assembly in November 1956, and served there from 1957 to 1964.

Phillip Burton was reelected to the ten succeeding Congresses.

In 1965, Burton was one of only three members of the House to vote against appropriations that President Lyndon B Johnson requested for the Vietnam War.

Phillip Burton was a delegate to the California State Democratic convention from 1968 to 1982.

Phillip Burton was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1968 and 1972.

Phillip Burton was supported by labor unions and championed union activists, supporting the activities of the farm workers union and the coal miners union.

Phillip Burton voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, Civil Rights Act of 1968, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

When President Gerald Ford appeared before Congress in 1975 to request aid during a refugee crisis in the Vietnamese and Cambodian capitals, Phillip Burton became so upset with Ford's request that he called it "an outrage" and left halfway through the speech.

In December 1976, Phillip Burton narrowly lost a bid for House Majority Leader to Jim Wright of Fort Worth, Texas, by a vote of 148 to 147.

Phillip Burton was the author of the bill that created the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and legislation setting up wilderness areas across the country.

Phillip Burton sponsored a law that substantially enlarged Redwood National Park in 1987.

The Point Reyes National Seashore includes the Phillip Burton Wilderness, named for the congressman in 1985.

Phillip Burton was instrumental in establishing the position of non-voting representative from Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

Phillip Burton died on April 10,1983, in San Francisco at age 56, of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Phillip Burton was cremated, and the ashes were interred in the National Cemetery of the Presidio of San Francisco.

Phillip Burton was elected to full terms in 1984 and 1986.

Phillip Burton was portrayed by Dakin Matthews in HBO's 1993 film And the Band Played On and by Robert Chimento in the 2008 film Milk.