Philip Hart | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Michigan |
|
In office January 3, 1959 – December 26, 1976 |
|
Preceded by | Charles E. Potter |
Succeeded by | Donald W. Riegle, Jr. |
49th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan | |
In office January 1, 1955 – January 1, 1959 |
|
Governor | G. Mennen Williams |
Preceded by | Clarence A. Reid |
Succeeded by | John B. Swainson |
Personal details | |
Born |
Philip Aloysius Hart December 10, 1912 Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania |
Died |
December 26, 1976 (aged 64) Washington D.C. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) |
Jane "Janey" Hart (1943-1976, his death) |
Children | 8 |
Alma mater |
Georgetown University University of Michigan Law School |
Profession | Attorney |
Awards | Purple Heart |
Military service | |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Years of service | 1941–1946 |
Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Unit | 4th Infantry Division |
Battles/wars |
Philip Aloysius Hart (December 10, 1912 – December 26, 1976) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1959 until his death from cancer in Washington, D.C. in 1976. He was known as the "Conscience of the Senate."
The grandson of Irish immigrants, Philip Hart was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, to Philip Aloysius and Ann (née Clyde) Hart. His father was a banker who served as president of the Bryn Mawr Trust Company. He received his early education at Waldron Academy, and then attended West Philadelphia Catholic High School.
Hart studied at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he was the student body president and an award-winning debater. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Georgetown in 1934. In 1937, he received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School at Ann Arbor.
Hart married Jane "Janey" Briggs Hart, the daughter of philanthropist and former owner of the Detroit Tigers Walter Briggs, in June 1943. Jane was an aviator of Mercury 13 fame and the couple met through her brother, who was Hart's roommate at Georgetown. They have four surviving sons and four daughters. Hart's namesake, Philip Jr., died as a toddler and is buried in the family plot near his father.