Bob Dole

More to Explore

People and Groups

Themes

Events

Related Topics

Recommended Articles

  • Sargent Shriver

    Sargent Shriver

    Sargent Shriver, brother in law of John F. Kennedy, was instrumental in the creation of the Peace Corps.

  • Geraldine A. Ferraro

    (born Aug. 26, 1935, Newburgh, N.Y., U.S.) American politician who became the first woman to be nominated for vice president by a major political party in the United States.

  • Ralph Nader

    (born February 27, 1934, Winsted, Conn., U.S.) American lawyer and consumer advocate who was a four-time candidate for the U.S. presidency (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008).

  • Congress of the United States

    the legislature of the United States of America, established under the Constitution of 1789 and separated structurally from the executive and judicial branches of government.

(Born July 22, 1923, Russell, Kansas, U.S.) U.S. senator and Republican congressional leader who was his party's candidate for the presidency in 1996.

Dole was born into a working-class family and left the University of Kansas to serve in the army during World War II. He became a second lieutenant and was seriously wounded during fighting in Italy. His recuperation from almost total paralysis took nearly four years, and, despite three major operations, he was left without the use of his right arm and hand. He returned to school and graduated with a law degree from Washburn Municipal University in Topeka, Kansas.

From 1951 to 1953 Dole was a Republican member of the Kansas state legislature, and he thereafter served four terms as the Russell county prosecuting attorney. From 1961 to 1969 he was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968 and was reelected repeatedly thereafter. He also served (1971–73) as chairman of the Republican National Committee under President Richard M. Nixon.

In 1984 Dole became leader of his party in the Senate, and he twice served as majority leader (1984–86; 1994–96). He was selected by President Gerald R. Ford as the vice presidential candidate in the 1976 election, and after their defeat he unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988. After finally clinching his party's nomination for president in March 1996, he retired from the Senate in June to devote himself wholly to the campaign, naming former congressman Jack Kemp as his running mate. Dole was defeated in November when President Bill Clinton won election to a second term.

Dole's political career was characterized by pragmatic conservatism. His second wife, Elizabeth Hanford Dole, whom he married in 1975, also held a number of influential U.S. governmental posts.

Copyright © 1994-2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com.

Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

Advertisement

This Day in History

May 26

Lead Story

Dracula goes on sale in London, 1897

The first copies of the classic vampire novel Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker, appear in London bookshops on this day in 1897. A childhood invalid,…

Shop HISTORY

See More

Classroom Study Guides