George David AIKEN, Congress, VT (1892-1984)

AIKEN, George David, a Senator from Vermont; born in Dummerston, Windham County, Vt., August 20, 1892; moved with his parents to Putney, Vt., in 1893; attended the public schools of Putney and Brattleboro, Vt.; engaged in fruit farming in 1912; also conducted an extensive nursery business, and in 1926 engaged in the commercial cultivation of wildflowers; served as school director of Putney 1920-1937; member of the State house of representatives 1931-1935 and served as speaker 1933-1935; lieutenant governor of Vermont 1935-1937 and Governor 1937-1941; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate, November 5, 1940, to fill the vacancy in the term ending January 3, 1945, caused by the death of Ernest W. Gibson, but did not assume office until January 10, 1941; reelected in 1944, 1950, 1956, 1962, and 1968, and served from January 10, 1941, to January 3, 1975; was not a candidate for reelection in 1974; chairman, Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments (Eightieth Congress), Committee on Agriculture and Forestry (Eighty-third Congress); died in Putney, Vt., November 19, 1984; interment in West Hill Cemetery, Putney, Vt.

Bibliography

American National Biography; Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives; Aiken, George D. Aiken: Senate Diary, January 1972-January 1975. Brattleboro, Vt.: Stephen Greene Press, 1976; Sherman, Michael, ed. The Political Legacy of George D. Aiken: Wise Old Owl of the U.S. Senate. Woodstock, VT: Countryman Press, 1995.

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