Eugene Mccarthy

American politician, teacher and writer. The Senator from Minnesota, he was best known as the challenger of Lyndon B. Johnson in the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1968. He is the author of "Colony of the World," 1994, "Selected Poems," 1997 and "No Fault Politics" 1998. A wry and provocative thinker, he defied easy definition as a liberal. A man who always loved an audience, after he left teaching and politics, he spoke thoughtfully to colleges and seminar groups all across the nation. McCarthy attended St. John's University in Minnesota and was a Benedictine novice when he turned to teaching full time at St. John's from 1940-1943. After working in military intelligence during World War II, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1948. The turbulence of the '60s brought McCarthy to the forefront as a blatantly outspoken politician who was against the Vietnam War, a platform which won him an enormous following among draft age baby boomers across America. His career-turning decision to challenge LBJ in the crucial election of 1968 led to Johnson's withdrawal from the race. McCarthy was eventually defeated by Robert F. Kennedy. McCarthy spent six months in a Washington D.C. hospital in 1998 recovering from complications from a herniated disc. He made one marriage and had four children. The poet, professor and politician died in his sleep on December 10, 2005 in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. McCarthy was age 89 Link to Wikipedia biography