Bob Bartlett

For other people with similar names, see Edward Bartlett (disambiguation) and Robert Bartlett (disambiguation).
Bob Bartlett
Bartlett in 1954
United States Senator
from Alaska
In office
January 3, 1959 – December 11, 1968
Preceded byWilliam A. Egan (Shadow Senator)
Succeeded byTed Stevens
Delegate to the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Alaska's at-large district
In office
January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1959
Preceded byAnthony Dimond
Succeeded byRalph Rivers (Representative)
Secretary of Alaska Territory
In office
January 30, 1939 – February 6, 1944
GovernorJohn Weir Troy
Ernest Gruening
Personal details
Born
Edward Lewis Bartlett

(1904-04-20)April 20, 1904
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
DiedDecember 11, 1968(1968-12-11) (aged 64)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseVide Gaustad
Children2[1]
RelativesBurke Riley (son-in-law)
EducationUniversity of Washington, Seattle
University of Alaska, Fairbanks (BA)

Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett (April 20, 1904 – December 11, 1968), was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Senator. A key fighter for Alaska statehood, Bartlett served as the Secretary of Alaska Territory from 1939 to 1945, in Congress from 1945 to 1959 as a Delegate, and from 1959 until his death in 1968 as a U.S. senator. He was opposed to U.S. involvement in Vietnam, along with his fellow Senator Ernest Gruening, and also worked to warn people about the dangers of radiation. Many acts bear his name, including a major law known as the Bartlett Act, mandating handicap access in all federally-funded buildings.[2]

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him Secretary of the Alaska Territory, serving under Governors John Weir Troy and Ernest Gruening.[3][4] In 1945, following the retirement of Anthony Dimond, Bartlett was elected as the delegate from Alaska to the 79th and the six succeeding Congresses, with the backing of Dimond.[3] It was in this role that his greatest work on Alaskan statehood was completed, such as the introduction of the Alaska Statehood Act to the House, where he was key in shepherding its passage.[3] Bartlett labored constantly for statehood, being a member of the Alaska Statehood Committee.

Upon Alaska's admission to the Union in 1959, he became the senior inaugural U.S. senator from Alaska and served until his death in 1968.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference snacc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Bob Bartlett of Alaska". Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference notable was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference histo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).