Biografía

Democrat US Congressional representative from West Virginia, 3 January 1959 - 3 January 1977.

Special assistant to President Harry S. Truman, 1949-1953.

He joined the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the final phase of the 1965 voting rights march in Alabama. He was the only member of Congress in King's entourage.

He moved to West Virginia to teach government at Marshall College. He had already taught at Columbia and Princeton, edited President Franklin D. Roosevelt's papers, and written speeches in Harry Truman's administration.

He was the main author of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, overcoming strong opposition to its passage in 1969. It made intentional violation of safety rules a federal offense, put a limit on the amount of breathable coal dust permissible in mines, and mandated compensation for workers with black lung disease. He was the first West Virginia official to demand a total ban on strip mining.