John Blatnik, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

John Blatnik

American politician

Date of Birth: 17-Aug-1911

Place of Birth: Chisholm, Minnesota, United States

Date of Death: 17-Dec-1991

Profession: teacher, politician, superintendent

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Leo


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About John Blatnik

  • John Anton Blatnik (August 17, 1911 – December 17, 1991) was a United States Congressman from Minnesota.
  • He was a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), which is affiliated with the Democratic Party. Blatnik was born in Chisholm, Minnesota, to Slovene immigrant parents.
  • He graduated from Winona State Teachers College (today Winona State University) and worked as a chemistry teacher in Chisholm. From 1940 to 1944, he served in the Minnesota State Senate and volunteered to serve in the United States Army Air Corps in 1942.
  • While in the Army Air Corps (the predecessor to the Air Force), he was chief of the Office of Strategic Services's mission with Tito's Yugoslav partisans for almost a year.In 1946, Blatnik was elected to Congress representing Minnesota's 8th District in the northeastern part of the state, running on the newly unified ticket of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
  • He was reelected 13 times without much difficulty.
  • He served in the 80th, 81st, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 91st, 92nd, and 93rd congresses, (January 3, 1947 – December 31, 1974). In 1963, Blatnik, introduced a bill to make Leif Erikson Day a nationwide observance.
  • The following year Congress adopted this unanimously. Blatnik voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • He was an early supporter of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and helped develop the original legislation to build it.
  • He served as chairman of the Public Works Committee (now known as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) during his last two terms in Congress.
  • As chairman, he shepherded the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, better known as the Clean Water Act, to passage in 1972. Upon retirement, Blatnik endorsed his long-time administrative assistant, Jim Oberstar, to replace him in Congress; Oberstar won easily in the 1974 election. The bridge for Interstate 535 crossing the Superior Bay and the Saint Louis Bay between Wisconsin and Minnesota was renamed the John A.
  • Blatnik Bridge in his honor on September 24, 1971. In 1955, Blatnik married the former Gisela Hager.
  • They had three children.
  • Blatnik died in Forest Heights, Maryland on December 17, 1991.
  • He was survived by his second wife, the former Evelyn Castiglioni.

Read more at Wikipedia

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