Eugene Donald Millikin (February 12, 1891July 26, 1958) was a
United States senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
who served as
Senate Republican Conference Chairperson from 1947 to 1956.
Biography
Born in
Hamilton, Ohio
Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at th ...
, Millikin graduated from the
law school
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
of the
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...
in 1913. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. He entered politics and served as executive secretary to the Governor from 1915 to 1917. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he enlisted as a private in the Colorado
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
in 1917, saw action in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and was mustered out as a
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
. Millikin resumed the practice of law in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and became president of Kinney-Coastal Oil.
Millikin was appointed by Governor
Ralph Lawrence Carr on December 20, 1941, and subsequently elected on November 3, 1942, as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
to fill the vacancy in the term ending January 3, 1945, caused by the death of
Alva B. Adams. He was reelected in 1944 and 1950, and served in all from December 20, 1941 to January 3, 1957. (He was not a candidate for renomination in 1956).
He served as chairman of the
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, the
Senate Republican Conference
The Senate Republican Conference is the formal organization of the Republican Senators in the United States Senate, who currently number 50. Over the last century, the mission of the conference has expanded and been shaped as a means of informi ...
, the
U.S. Senate Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation.
Millikin identified with the
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
wing of the Senate GOP. He also voted for an FEPC bill in 1950 in addition to bolstering President
Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
's army desegregation.
In a meeting of the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy on July 20, 1949 he opposed - supported by Senator Arthur Vandenberg - a cooperation between the US and the UK in the production of atomic weapons because he believed that the American public opinion assumed that the US monopoly possession of atomic weapons gave the US a real advantage in an uncertain world.
[Top Secret Record of the meeting in: FRUS 1949, vol. 1, p. 493]
Millikin died in Denver in 1958 and was interred in the
Fairmount Mausoleum
Fairmount Mausoleum is a public mausoleum at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. The building was designed by architects Frederick E. Mountjoy and Francis W. Frewan. Constructed in 1929 and opened in 1930, the Fairmount Mausoleum contains th ...
at
Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millikin, Eugene Donald
1891 births
1958 deaths
American military personnel of World War I
Colorado lawyers
Republican Party United States senators from Colorado
Utah lawyers
Colorado Republicans
People from Hamilton, Ohio
United States Army officers
University of Colorado Law School alumni
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American lawyers
Old Right (United States)