Alfred Nash Beadleston, Jr. (February 20, 1912 – January 18, 2000) was an American Republican Party politician who served as Speaker of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

and President of the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

Biography

Beadleston was born in

Rumson, New Jersey Rumson is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough’s population was 7,343, reflecting a 3.1% increase from the 7,122 enumera ...

, in 1912 to Alfred Nash Beadleston, Sr. (1848–1915), partner in th
Beadleston & Woerz
brewery, and his wife Helen F. Hazard (1888–1937), daughter of Edward Clarke Hazard of the grocery firm E. C. Hazard and Company. His parents made headlines when they married in 1909, when the elder Beadleston was 60 years old and his bride was only 21. This was his father's second marriage. Beadleston attended

Fay School Fay School is an independent, coeducational day and boarding school, located on a campus some from Boston in Southborough, Massachusetts. Fay opened its Primary School (pre-K to grade two) in 2010 and moved its 6th grade into the Lower School ...

Southborough, Massachusetts Southborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps, though ...

, and St. Paul's School in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

, and

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. After graduating in 1934, Beadleston converted the family brewing company's facilities into commercial property and embarked on a career in public service. In 1938 he was elected to the

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

Borough Council, and two years later he was elected as Mayor of Shrewsbury, New Jersey. He served as Shrewsbury mayor from 1941 to 1952. In 1951 Beadleston was elected to the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

from Monmouth County. In 1954 he authored legislation commonly known as "The Beadleston Act," which protected students in the State of New Jersey with educational disabilities by guaranteeing their right to

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

. The Beadleston Act is highly regarded as the cornerstone predecessor to the

Education for All Handicapped Children Act The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (sometimes referred to using the acronyms EAHCA or EHA, or Public Law (PL) 94-142 was enacted by the United States Congress in 1975. This act required all public schools accepting federal funds to p ...

, and subsequently the

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA was ...

. Beadleston was named Speaker of the Assembly in 1964. In 1967 he was elected to the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

. He served as Senate President in 1973, becoming one of the few politicians in state history to hold the leadership posts in both houses of the legislature. Beadleston declined to run for another Senate term in 1977, retiring to his Rumson home. He died on January 18, 2000, at

Riverview Medical Center Riverview Medical Center is a 476-bed acute care community hospital located in Red Bank, New Jersey, Red Bank, New Jersey, United States. It serves the northern region of Monmouth County, New Jersey. In 2021 was ranked in the top 50 hospitals in Ne ...

in Red Bank at the age of 88.

Family

Beadleston's first marriage, to Sylvia Lawrence White on February 16, 1935. They had William Beadleston, their son, in 1936. Their marriage ended in divorce. He married Isabel Palmer Morrell Waud on February 7, 1948. She was the widow of Dr. Sydney P. Waud of Chicago, a colonel in the

Army Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

References

External links

Beadleston Act

at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

Alfred N. Beadleston
at

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Isabel M. Beadleston
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beadleston, Alfred N. 1912 births 2000 deaths People from Rumson, New Jersey People from Shrewsbury, New Jersey Yale College alumni Mayors of places in New Jersey Speakers of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators Presidents of the New Jersey Senate 20th-century American politicians Fay School alumni St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni