81 Facts About Robert Dole

Robert Joseph Dole was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996.

Robert Dole was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his tenure, including three non-consecutive years as Senate Majority Leader.

Robert Dole was the Republican presidential nominee in the 1996 election and the vice presidential nominee in the 1976 election.

Robert Dole was born and raised in Russell, Kansas, where he established a legal career after serving with distinction in the United States Army during World War II.

In 1968, Robert Dole was elected to the Senate, where he served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1971 to 1973 and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1981 to 1985.

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Robert Dole led the Senate Republicans from 1985 to his resignation in 1996, and served as Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and from 1995 to 1996.

Robert Dole sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980, but quickly dropped out of the race.

Robert Dole won the Republican presidential nomination in 1996 and selected Jack Kemp as his running mate.

Robert Dole resigned from the Senate during the 1996 campaign and did not seek public office again after the election.

Robert Dole appeared in numerous commercials and television programs and served on various councils.

In 2012, Robert Dole unsuccessfully advocated Senate ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Robert Dole initially supported Jeb Bush in the 2016 Republican primaries, but later became the only former Republican presidential nominee to endorse Donald Trump in the general election.

Robert Dole was married to former U S Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina.

Robert Dole's father, who had moved the family to Russell shortly before Robert was born, earned money by running a small creamery.

Robert Dole graduated from Russell High School in the spring of 1941 and enrolled at the University of Kansas the following fall.

Robert Dole had been a star high school athlete in Russell, and Kansas basketball coach Phog Allen traveled to Russell to recruit him to play for the Jayhawks basketball team.

Robert Dole attended the University of Arizona in Tucson from 1948 to 1949, before transferring to Washburn University in Topeka, where he graduated with both undergraduate and law degrees in 1952.

Robert Dole joined the United States Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps in 1942 to fight in World War II, becoming a second lieutenant in the Army's 10th Mountain Division.

Robert Dole was paralyzed from the neck down and transported to a military hospital near Kansas.

Robert Dole remained despondent, "not ready to accept the fact that my life would be changed forever".

Robert Dole was encouraged to see Hampar Kelikian, an orthopedist in Chicago who had been working with veterans returning from war.

Robert Dole recovered from his wounds at the Percy Jones Army Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Robert Dole was decorated three times, receiving two Purple Hearts for his injuries, and the Bronze Star with "V" Device for valor for his attempt to assist a downed radioman.

Robert Dole minimized the effect in public by keeping a pen in his right hand, and learned to write with his left hand.

Robert Dole ran for office for the first time in 1950 and was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, serving a two-year term.

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Robert Dole became the County Attorney of Russell County in 1952.

Robert Dole was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Kansas's 6th congressional district in 1960.

Robert Dole was elected from this merged district in 1962 and was re-elected two more times.

In 1968, Dole defeated former Kansas Governor William H Avery for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate to succeed retiring Senator Frank Carlson.

Robert Dole was appointed chair of the Republican National Committee the next year.

Over time in the Senate, Robert Dole was seen by some as having a moderate voting record.

Robert Dole served on congressional agriculture committees throughout the course of his political career, and became the Republican Party's chief spokesman on farm policy and nutrition issues in the Senate.

When Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980, Robert Dole held the chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture Committee's Nutrition Subcommittee and the Senate Finance Committee.

Together with McGovern, Robert Dole spearheaded the elimination of the purchase requirement to receive food stamp benefits and the simplification of eligibility requirements.

In particular, Gingrich and Robert Dole had a tense working relationship as they were potential rivals for the 1996 Republican nomination.

From 1992 to 1996, Robert Dole played a major role in mobilizing support for Bosnia in the Senate, and pressuring the Clinton administration and NATO to resolve the war there.

In 1996, Robert Dole was the first sitting Senate Party Leader to receive his party's nomination for president.

Robert Dole hoped to use his long experience in Senate procedures to maximize publicity from his rare positioning as Senate Majority Leader against an incumbent president but was stymied by Senate Democrats.

Robert Dole ran unsuccessfully for vice president on a ticket headed by President Gerald Ford in 1976.

Robert Dole ran for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination, eventually won by Ronald Reagan.

Robert Dole was expected to win the nomination against underdog candidates such as the more conservative Senator Phil Gramm of Texas and more moderate Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Robert Dole eventually won the nomination, becoming the oldest first-time presidential nominee at the age of 73 years, 1 month .

Robert Dole found himself criticized from both the left and the right within the Republican Party over the convention platform, one of the major issues being the inclusion of the Human Life Amendment.

Robert Dole lost, as pundits had long expected, to incumbent President Bill Clinton in the 1996 election.

Robert Dole is the last World War II veteran to have been the presidential nominee of a major party.

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Robert Dole engaged in a career of writing, consulting, public speaking, and television appearances.

Robert Dole was the first defeated presidential nominee to become a political celebrity.

In November 1996, Robert Dole appeared on Late Show with David Letterman and made a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live, parodying himself .

Robert Dole guest-starred as himself on NBC's Brooke Shields sitcom Suddenly Susan in January 1997.

Robert Dole became a television commercial spokesman for such products as Viagra, Visa, Dunkin' Donuts, and Pepsi-Cola .

Robert Dole was an occasional political commentator on the interview program Larry King Live, and was a guest a number of times on Comedy Central's satirical news program, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Robert Dole was, for a short time in 2003, a commentator opposite Bill Clinton on CBS's 60 Minutes.

Robert Dole served as national chairman of the World War II Memorial Campaign, which raised funds for the building of the National World War II Memorial.

Robert Dole's legacy includes a commitment to combating hunger, both in the United States and around the globe.

Robert Dole gave the 2008 Vance Distinguished Lecture at Central Connecticut State University.

Robert Dole wrote several books, including one on jokes told by the presidents of the United States, in which he ranks the presidents according to their level of humor.

That same year, Robert Dole joined fellow former Senate majority leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, and George Mitchell to found the Bipartisan Policy Center, a non-profit think-tank that works to develop policies suitable for bipartisan support.

Robert Dole served as a director for the Asia Universal Bank, a bank domiciled in Kyrgyzstan during the discredited Kurmanbek Bakiyev presidential regime which was shut down owing to its involvement in money laundering.

Robert Dole cited the association made between himself and Gingrich as fellow Congressional leaders in Democratic advertisements as a key factor for his 1996 presidential defeat.

Robert Dole began a reunion tour of his home state of Kansas in early 2014, seeking to visit each of the state's 105 counties.

In 2015, Robert Dole endorsed former Florida governor Jeb Bush in his presidential campaign.

Robert Dole had attended every GOP convention since 1964, and did not consider skipping the 2016 edition even though Trump's politics were closer to that of Robert Dole's 1996 primary rival Pat Buchanan.

Former Robert Dole advisers, including Paul Manafort, played a major role in Trump's presidential campaign.

Robert Dole was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service to the nation as a "soldier, legislator and statesman" in January 2018.

Robert Dole never had one bit of fraud in all those lawsuits he filed and statements he made.

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Robert Dole married Phyllis Holden, an occupational therapist at a veterans hospital, in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1948, three months after they met.

Robert Dole was a Freemason and a member of Russell Lodge No 177, Russell, Kansas.

In 1975, Robert Dole was elevated to the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite.

Robert Dole often referred to himself in the third person in conversation.

Robert Dole later spoke before Congress and on public service announcements about early detection of the disease and the erectile dysfunction that resulted from his surgery.

Robert Dole starred in a parody of his Viagra commercials for "the little blue can" of Pepsi.

Robert Dole underwent a hip replacement operation that required him to receive blood thinners in December 2004.

Robert Dole spent 40 days at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; upon his release, his stronger left arm was of limited use.

Robert Dole told a reporter that he needed help to handle the simplest of tasks, since both of his arms were of limited use.

Robert Dole continued to go to Walter Reed several times a week for occupational therapy for his left shoulder.

In 2009, Robert Dole was hospitalized for an elevated heart rate and sore legs for which he underwent a successful skin graft procedure.

Robert Dole was hospitalized with pneumonia in February 2010 after undergoing knee surgery.

Robert Dole spent ten months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center recovering from the surgery and experienced three bouts with pneumonia.

Robert Dole was readmitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in January 2011 and spent about six days there being treated for a fever and a minor infection.

Robert Dole was hospitalized in November 2012 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, according to then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

In February 2021, Robert Dole announced that he had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, and subsequently underwent immunotherapy, forgoing chemotherapy due to its negative effect on his body.