Frank Lautenberg (January 23, 1924-June 3, 2013) was born to Sam Lautenberg and his wife Mollie Bergen, who immigrated as infants to the US from Eastern Europe. After graduation from high school, Lautenberg served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II. As a veteran, he graduated from Columbia Busness School with a degree in economics. He rose from salesman to CEO of the Automatic Data Processing Company and from 1978 to 1982 served as executive commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Elected in 1982 to the U.S. Senate, he was an advocate for successful legislation penalizing states that permitted alcoholic beverages to be served to minors. After New Jersey voters reelected him in 1988, he was the primary author of legislation granting presumptive refugee status to Jews and other minority group members of the Soviet Union. He won reelection in 1994. He announced his retirement in 2000, but before the 2002 election, Senator Robert Toricelli was indicted on federal corruption charges, and party leaders agreed Lautenberg was an ideal candidate to replace Toricelli on the ballot.
Lautenberg was pro abortion rights, a supporter of gun control, and backed airline safety and anti-smoking legislation. He was reelected in 2008, at the age of 84. Lautenberg died in office as the age of 89, then the oldest srving senator and last remaining WWII veteran in the Senate. He was succeeded after a special election by Cory Booker.
He and his first wife Lois Levenson had four children, Ellen, Nan, Lisa and Joshua before they divorced in 1988 after a 31-year marriage. In 2003, he married Bonnie S. Englebardt, with whom he had two stepdaughters, Danielle and Lara.
Tomorrow, January 24: Neil Diamond
*
SDJW condensation of a Wikipedia article