Alvin O'Konski, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Alvin O'Konski

American politician

Date of Birth: 26-May-1904

Place of Birth: Kewaunee, Wisconsin, United States

Date of Death: 08-Jul-1987

Profession: teacher, politician, university teacher, journalist, publisher, superintendent

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Gemini


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About Alvin O'Konski

  • Alvin Edward O'Konski (May 26, 1904 – July 8, 1987) was a United States Representative from Wisconsin.Born on a farm near Kewaunee, Wisconsin, O'Konski attended the local public schools and the University of Iowa.
  • He graduated from State Teachers College (now University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1927 and from the University of Wisconsin (now University of Wisconsin–Madison) in 1932.
  • He was a high school teacher in Omro and Oconto from 1926 to 1929, a member of the faculty of Oregon State College at Corvallis from 1929 to 1931, and a faculty member at the University of Detroit from 1936 to 1938.
  • He was superintendent of schools in Pulaski, Wisconsin, from 1932 to 1935 and an instructor at a junior college in Coleraine, Minnesota, in 1936.
  • He was an educator, journalist, lecturer, editor and publisher at Hurley, Wisconsin, from 1940 to 1942. In 1942, O'Konski was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-eighth Congress.
  • 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.
  • He lost a bid for the Republican senatorial nomination to succeed Joseph McCarthy in 1957. O'Konski represented a district that included much of the northwestern part of the state, including Rhinelander and Superior.
  • However, after the 1970 census, Wisconsin lost a district, and most of O'Konski's territory was merged with Wisconsin's 7th congressional district represented by three-term Democratic Party member Dave Obey.
  • 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 carried most of the district in the 1972 election, O'Konski was defeated.
  • A proposed navy project called Project Sanguine which O'Konski supported may have been a factor in his loss.While still serving in Congress, O'Konski founded WAEO-TV, the NBC affiliate for most of north-central Wisconsin.
  • He sold the station in 1976; it is now WJFW-TV. O'Konski lived in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, until his death in 1987.
  • He is buried at St.
  • Hedwig's Cemetery, a rural church cemetery west of Kewaunee.

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