Eugene Donald Millikin (February 12, 1891July 26, 1958) was a

United States senator 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 powe ...

from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, 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 wes ...

who served as Senate Republican Conference Chairperson from 1947 to 1956.

Biography

Born in Hamilton, Ohio, Millikin graduated from the law school 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 sy ...

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 and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and was mustered out as a lieutenant colonel. 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 in ...

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)