Lynn Nancy Rivers (born December 19, 1956) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and lawyer from

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. She served four terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1995 to 2003.

Early life and education

Rivers was born in

Au Gres, Michigan Au Gres ( ) is a city in Arenac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 945 at the 2020 census. History French explorers named the location Point Au Gres, which stuck on map as late as 1828. Au Gres means "gritty stone" in the a ...

, and graduated from Au Gres-Sims High School,

Arenac County Arenac County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 15,002. The county seat is Standish, Michigan, Standish. History Arenac County was ...

, in 1975. She was married the day after graduation, and had 2 children by age 21. She received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

biological anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1987 and a J.D. from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in 1992.

Career

She served as a trustee of the Ann Arbor board of education from 1984 to 1992. She was a member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 U ...

between 1993 and 1994. Rivers was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from Michigan's 13th District to the

for the 104th and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1995, to January 3, 2003. After Michigan lost a district in the

United States 2000 Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

reapportionment, much of her district was merged into a redrawn 15th District together with long-time incumbent

John Dingell John David Dingell Jr. (July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the record for longes ...

. Rivers challenged Dingell in the Democratic primary for the new 15th. However, running in a district that was over 65 percent new to her, she lost to Dingell by 18 points. Immediately after leaving Congress, she taught Political Science at the

and at

Washtenaw Community College Washtenaw Community College (WCC) is a public community college in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan.bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

. She was about 21 when she was diagnosed. While in Congress she spoke about her condition on the House floor, making her the first openly bipolar member of Congress. In 1998, the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) named her "Legislator of the Year."

References

External links

Rep. Lynn Rivers
at GovTrack * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivers, Lynn 1956 births Living people American women lawyers Politicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan faculty Wayne State University Law School alumni People with bipolar disorder Female members of the United States House of Representatives Women in Michigan politics Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Women state legislators in Michigan School board members in Michigan 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People from Arenac County, Michigan

Early life and education

Career

See also

References

External links