William BENTON, Congress, CT (1900-1973)

BENTON, William, a Senator from Connecticut; born in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn., April 1, 1900; attended Shattuck Military Academy, Faribault, Minn., and Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., in 1917 and 1918; graduated from Yale University in 1921; worked for advertising agencies in New York and Chicago until 1929 and then cofounded his own advertising agency in New York; moved to Norwalk, Conn., in 1932; part-time vice president of the University of Chicago 1937-1945; Assistant Secretary of State, Washington, D.C., August 31, 1945, to September 30, 1947, during which time he was active in organizing the United Nations; member of and delegate to numerous United Nations and international conferences and commissions; chairman of the board and publisher of Encyclopedia Britannica 1943-1973; trustee of several schools and colleges; appointed to the United States Senate, December 17, 1949, and subsequently elected on November 7, 1950, as a Democrat to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Raymond E. Baldwin to the term ending January 3, 1953 and served from December 17, 1949, to January 3, 1953; unsuccessful candidate for election for the full term in 1952; United States Ambassador to UNESCO in Paris 1963-1968; died in New York City, March 18, 1973; cremated; ashes scattered at family estate, Southport, Conn.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Hyman, Sidney. The Lives of William Benton. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969; U.S. Congress. Memorial Addresses. 93rd Cong., 1st sess., 1973. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present