Amory Houghton Jr. (August 7, 1926 – March 4, 2020) was an American

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from the U.S. state of New York. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and was a member of one of upstate New York's most prominent business and political families, the Houghtons.

Early life

The son of Amory Houghton and Laura DeKay Richardson, and the grandson of Alanson B. Houghton, Amory Houghton Jr. was born in

Corning, New York Corning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,551 at the 2020 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company t ...

. He attended St. Paul's School in

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New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

and was a member of the class of 1945. Houghton later served as a member of the school's board of trustees.

Military service

In 1944, Houghton enlisted in the

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for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Assigned to USS '' Macon'' (CA-132) and

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military bas ...

, he took part with his unit in activities associated with the

Battle of the Caribbean The Battle of the Caribbean refers to a naval campaign waged during World War II that was part of the Battle of the Atlantic, from 1941 to 1945. German U-boats and Italian submarines attempted to disrupt the Allied supply of oil and other ma ...

. Houghton attained the rank of private first class, and was discharged in 1946.

Business career

He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts 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 year ...

in 1950 and received his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

degree from Harvard in 1952. Houghton spent his business career with his family's company, Corning Glass Works (now

Corning Incorporated Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The co ...

), a company founded in 1851 by his great-great-grandfather, Amory Houghton (1812-1882). He joined the company in 1951, and worked as an accountant, process engineer, manufacturing foreman, and sales manager. He joined the board of directors in 1955, became a vice president in 1957, and was appointed president in 1961. From 1964 to 1983, Houghton served as Corning's chairman and chief executive officer. In addition to Corning Glass, his other business interests included membership on the board of directors of IBM, First National City Bank (later Citigroup),

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

, Genentech, and B. F. Goodrich.

U.S. Congress

In 1986, Houghton was elected to 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 ...

as a

. Houghton reportedly was among the richest members of the House, with a wealth of $475 million.

Voting record

Houghton had a moderate voting record and was founder of the

Republican Main Street Partnership The Republican Main Street Partnership is a 501(c)(4) organization that was allied with the congressional Republican Main Street Caucus. The Partnership continues to exist, while the Caucus was dissolved by its members in February 2019. Hist ...

, which he formed to encourage a more moderate stance to public issues. He was frequently called upon to serve as a broker between Democratic and Republican members on critical issues since he was a champion for improving civility between political parties. While he voted with Republicans on most issues relating to the budget, he also voted with the Democratic Party on issues of environmental protection, civil rights and funding for the arts and education.

Committee memberships

He served on the International Relations and Ways and Means Committees.

Issues

He was one of four Republicans to vote against all the impeachment articles against President Clinton in 1998. In 2001, Houghton was one of only three Republicans to vote against permanently repealing the estate tax. On October 10, 2002, he was among the six House Republicans who voted against the resolution authorizing the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. Houghton was one of only three Republicans to vote against an initial version of the

Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 ("JGTRRA", , ), was passed by the United States Congress on May 23, 2003 and signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 28, 2003. Nearly all of the cuts (individual rates, capital ...

, the second of the two major

Bush tax cuts The phrase Bush tax cuts refers to changes to the United States tax code passed originally during the presidency of George W. Bush and extended during the presidency of Barack Obama, through: * Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act o ...

. However, he voted for the final version of the bill.

Reputation

Throughout his career Houghton was one of

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

's most well known and respected members of Congress; he was usually re-elected with more than 65 percent of the vote. He clashed occasionally with the increasingly Southern, socially conservative orientation of the party. For example, Houghton was one of the most vocal

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...

Republicans in Congress.

Later life and death

On April 7, 2004, Houghton announced his intention not to seek a tenth term in Congress. On January 3, 2005, Houghton's term expired and he was succeeded by John R. "Randy" Kuhl. He was a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One. In 2016 and 2018, he spoke out against the presidency of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

and stated that he would support efforts to remove him from office. Corning Inc. announced on March 5, 2020, that Houghton had died the previous day.

Family

In 1950, Houghton married Ruth Frances West of

Waccabuc, New York Waccabuc is a hamlet and lake in the town of Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York, United States. Waccabuc is considered "New York's Secret Suburb" and is home to a "collection of privacy-loving C.E.O.s and bright stars in other firmaments," acc ...

. Their children include Amory, Robert, Sarah, and Quincy. After their 1988 divorce, in 1989 Houghton married Priscilla B. Dewey (1924–2012).

References

External links

* * * Joyce K. Mcintyre, Harvard Crimson
New York State of Mind: After Running Family Business, Amory Houghton Serves as Renegade U.S. Representative
June 5, 2000 * Jeffrey Smith, The Evening Tribune (Hornell, N.Y.)
Wife of Former Congressman Amo Houghton Dies
, July 10, 2012 , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Houghton, Amo 1926 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American politicians American chief executives of manufacturing companies American Episcopalians United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Businesspeople from New York (state) Citigroup people Corning Inc. Genentech people Harvard Business School alumni IBM employees Recipients of the Legion of Honour Military personnel from New York (state) Politicians from Corning, New York Procter & Gamble people Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni United States Marines Articles containing video clips