Robert Kastenmeier

Robert W. Kastenmeier
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 1959  January 3, 1991
Preceded by Donald Edgar Tewes
Succeeded by Scott Klug
Personal details
Born Robert William Kastenmeier
(1924-01-24)January 24, 1924
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
Died March 20, 2015(2015-03-20) (aged 91)
Arlington, Virginia
Political party Democratic Party
Spouse(s) Dorothy Chambers
Profession Lawyer
Military service
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1943–1946
Rank First Lieutenant
Battles/wars World War II

Robert William Kastenmeier (January 24, 1924 – March 20, 2015) was a United States politician. He represented Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1991, and was a member of the Democratic Party.[1][2]

Biography

Education

Kastenmeier was born in Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wisconsin, where he attended public school. He continued his education at Carleton College and at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he received his LL.B. in 1952. After being admitted to the bar, he began the practice of law in Watertown, Wisconsin.[3]

Military service

He entered the Army as a private in February 1943 and served in the Philippines. He was discharged on August 15, 1946 as a first lieutenant. Afterwards, he served in the War Department as a branch office director in the claims service in the Philippines from 1946 to 1948.

Political career

In 1955, Kastenmeier was elected to the position of Justice of the Peace for Jefferson and Dodge Counties, and he served until 1959.

Kastenmeier made an unsuccessful bid for Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district in 1956, losing to Republican Donald Tewes by 11 points. However, he sought a rematch in 1958 and defeated Tewes by 6,200 votes, being elected to congress for the first time. He won a third race with Tewes in 1960, and faced another close contest in 1962. However, he romped to a fourth term in 1964, and afterward only faced one other close contest, in 1980. He overall served from the 86th Congress to the 101st Congress.

As a congressman, Kastenmeier was one of the managers appointed by the House in 1986 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against Harry E. Claiborne, a judge of the United States District Court for Nevada.

He was also on the Judiciary Committee involved in the creation of the Copyright Act of 1976.[4]

In 1990, Kastenmeier unexpectedly lost his re-election bid to Republican Scott Klug, a political newcomer who was nearly 30 years his junior.

The Robert W. Kastenmeier United States Courthouse of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin was named in his honor.

Kastenmeier lived in Arlington, Virginia. He died on March 20, 2015 in Arlington, Virginia.[5]

Notes

  1. Robert Kastenmeier, Wisconsin Historical Society
  2. 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1989-1990,' Biographical Sketch of Robert W. Kastenmeier, pg. 13
  3. Watertown Historical Society, Robert Kastenmeier
  4. See, e.g., Robert Kastenmeier, 90th Cong., Report To Accompany H.R. 2512, Report No. 83 (March 8, 1967)
  5. Ex-Wisconsin Rep. Kastenmeier, early Vietnam critic, dies
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Donald Edgar Tewes
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district

1959–1991
Succeeded by
Scott Klug
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