Alvin Edward O'Konski (May 26, 1904July 8, 1987) was an American politician and educator who served 30 years in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. A Republican, he represented northwestern

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

from 1943 until 1973.

Early life and education

O'Konski was born on a farm near

Kewaunee, Wisconsin Kewaunee is a city in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,837 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the northwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the city is the county seat of Kewaunee County. Its Menom ...

to Antonia ( Paska) and Frank O'Konski, on May 26, 1904. He attended the local public schools and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. He graduated from State Teachers College (now

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UWO) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to around 13,0 ...

) in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

in 1927, and from the University of Wisconsin (now

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

) in 1932.

Career

He was a high school teacher in Omro and Oconto from 1926 to 1929, a member of the faculty of

Oregon State College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

, from 1929 to 1931, and a faculty member at the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

from 1936 to 1938. He was superintendent of schools in

Pulaski, Wisconsin Pulaski ( ) is a village in Brown, Oconto, and Shawano counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,870 at the 2020 census. Of this, 3,650 were in Brown County, 220 in Shawano County, and none in Oconto County. The Brown and ...

, from 1932 to 1935 and an instructor at a junior college in

Coleraine, Minnesota Coleraine is a city in Itasca County, Minnesota, United States, near Grand Rapids. The population was 2,006 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Thomas F. Cole, President of the Oliver Iron Mining Company. U.S. Highway 169 ser ...

, in 1936. He was an educator, journalist, lecturer, editor and publisher at

Hurley, Wisconsin Hurley is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,558 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located directly across the Montreal River (Wisconsin–Michigan), Montreal River from ...

, from 1940 to 1942. In 1942, O'Konski was elected as a Republican to the

78th United States Congress The 78th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 194 ...

. He was then reelected to the fourteen succeeding Congresses serving from January 3, 1943, till January 3, 1973. While in congress, he represented

Wisconsin's 10th congressional district Wisconsin's 10th congressional district is a former congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin. It was created following the 1890 United States census, 1890 census, and was abolished after the 1970 United St ...

. In 1957, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary in the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to replace

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

, who had died in office. O'Konski voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

. O'Konski represented a district that included much of the northwestern part of the state, including Rhinelander and

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

. However, after the 1970 census, Wisconsin lost a district, and most of O'Konski's territory was merged with

Wisconsin's 7th congressional district Wisconsin's 7th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northwestern and central Wisconsin; it is the largest congressional district in the state geographically, covering 20 counties (i ...

represented by three-term Democratic Party member

Dave Obey David Ross Obey ( ; born October 3, 1938) is an American lobbyist and former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 1969 to 2011. The district includes much of the northwestern portion of the sta ...

. O'Konski retained only about 40 percent of his former territory, a disadvantage he was unable to overcome despite his seniority. Even though

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

carried most of the district in the 1972 election, O'Konski was defeated. A proposed navy project called

Project Sanguine Project Sanguine was a United States Navy, US Navy project proposed in 1968 for communication with submerged submarines using extremely low frequency (ELF) radio waves. The initially proposed system, hardened to survive a nuclear attack, would h ...

which O'Konski supported may have been a factor in his loss. While still serving in Congress, O'Konski founded WAEO-TV, the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

affiliate for most of north-central Wisconsin. He sold the station in 1976; it is now

WJFW-TV WJFW-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Rhinelander, Wisconsin, United States, serving the Wausau area as an affiliate of NBC. The station is owned by Rockfleet Broadcasting and maintains studios on County Road G (along WIS 17 ...

Personal life

O'Konski lived in

, until his death in 1987. He is buried at St. Hedwig's Cemetery, a rural church cemetery west of Kewaunee.

References

External links

Rep. Alvin O’Konski
at

GovTrack GovTrack.us is a website developed by then-student Joshua Tauberer. It is based in Washington, D.C., and was launched as a hobby. It enables its users to track the bills and members of the United States Congress. Users can add trackers to certain ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okonski, Alvin 1904 births 1987 deaths School superintendents in Wisconsin 20th-century American educators Catholics from Wisconsin University of Iowa alumni Oregon State University faculty University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni University of Detroit Mercy faculty People from Kewaunee, Wisconsin People from Winter Park, Florida University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni American politicians of Polish descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin People from Rhinelander, Wisconsin 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives