Edmund Muskie

Edmund Sixtus "Ed" Muskie (28 March 191426 March 1996) was an American politician. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Muskie was born in Rumford, Maine to a Polish family.
He was the Governor of Maine serving from 1955 to 1959, and a United States Senator from 1959 to 1980. He served as United States Secretary of State from 1980 to 1981 under the Carter administration. President Jimmy Carter gave Muskie the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981.
Muskie died in Washington, D.C. from congestive heart failure. He was 81 years old.
Early life.
Muskie was born in Rumford, Maine on 28 March 1914. His father, Stephen Marciszewski (mar-chih-SHEF-ski) immigrated to the United States in 1903 and changed his name to Muskie.
Education.
Muskie graduated from Bates College in 1936. He graduated from Cornell University Law School in 1939. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He served in the Atlantic and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters from 1942 to 1945.
Career.
Muskie was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in the 1968 presidential election. Muskie later ran for President in the 1972 presidential election. After announcing that Muskie had lost, Muskie chocked with anger and began to cry. Afterwards, Muskie refused the fact that he cried at simply said that "melted snow flakes" in eyes and not tears. Muskie later said the reason he cried was that because newspapers insulted his wife.
Muskie held the highest office (Secretary of State) by a Polish American in U.S. history. If Muskie won the Presidential election in 1972, Muskie would have been the first Polish-American President of the United States.
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan appointed Muskie to serve in the Tower Commission to investigate the Iran-Contra affair.
Personal life.
He was married to Jane Gray from 1940 until his death in 1996. He died of congestive heart failure. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.