William Fife Knowland (June 26 1908 – February 23 1974) was a
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
,
newspaperA newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns that express the...
man, and
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
leader. He was a
U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
from
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, 1945 to 1959. He served as
Senate Majority LeaderThe Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business...
in 1953-1955, as
Minority LeaderThe Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business...
in 1955-1959. He succeeded his father,
Joseph R. KnowlandJoseph Russell Knowland was an American politician and newspaper publisher. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California and was owner, editor and publisher of the Oakland Tribune. He was the father of United States Senator William F...
, as the
editorThe term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
and publisher of the
Oakland Tribune.
Background
William F. "Bill" Knowland was born in the City of
AlamedaAlameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on a small island of the same name next to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. An additional part of the city is Bay Farm Island, which is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. The city has a small town feeling...
,
Alameda County, CaliforniaAlameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census it had a population of 1,443,741, making it the 7th largest county in the state, and by 2006 it was estimated 1,457,426...
. His father,
Joseph R. KnowlandJoseph Russell Knowland was an American politician and newspaper publisher. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California and was owner, editor and publisher of the Oakland Tribune. He was the father of United States Senator William F...
, was serving his third term as a
U.S. RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. He was the third child, with an older sister, Elinor (1895-1978), and a brother, Joseph Russell "Russ" Knowland, Jr. (1901-1961). His grandfather,
Joseph KnowlandJoseph Knowland was father of United States Representative Joseph Russell Knowland, grandfather of United States Senator William Fife Knowland, and great-grandfather of publisher and actor Joseph William "Joe" Knowland.-New York:...
(1833-1912), had made the family fortune in the
lumberLumber or timber is wood that is used in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
business. His mother, Elinor Fife Knowland, died on July 20 1908, less than a month after his birth. His father's second wife, Emelyn S. West, raised Knowland as her own son.
A young Knowland made campaign speeches for the 1920 Republican National ticket of
Warren G. HardingWarren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death from a heart attack or stroke in 1923. A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate and later as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S...
and
Calvin CoolidgeJohn Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state. His actions during the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the...
at the age of 12, married at 19, became a
California State AssemblyThe California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
man at 25, entered the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
at 37, and became a grandfather at 41.
Early political career
Knowland, president of the student body, graduated from
Alameda High SchoolAlameda High School is a public coeducational high school serving grades 9-12. It is located in Alameda, California and is part of the Alameda Unified School District.- History :...
in the Class of 1925. He graduated with a political science degree in three years from the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
in 1929. He was a member of
Zeta PsiThe Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America was founded June 1, 1847 as a social college fraternity. The organization now comprises about fifty active chapters and twenty-five inactive chapters, encompassing roughly twenty thousand brothers, and is a founding member of the North-American...
fraternityA fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
. California
GovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
C. C. YoungClement Calhoun Young was an American teacher and politician who was affiliated with the original Progressive Party and later the Republican Party. He was elected to five consecutive terms in the California State Assembly, serving from 1909 to 1919, then as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of...
and University of California President
William Wallace CampbellWilliam Wallace Campbell was an American astronomer, and director of Lick Observatory from 1900 to 1930. He specialized in spectroscopy....
praised Knowland's political activities as a university student.
Knowland attended the 1932 Republican National Convention. He watched from the gallery, the California delegation which included his father, J.R. Knowland,
Earl WarrenEarl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States and is to date the only person elected Governor of California three times. Prior to holding these positions, Warren served as a district attorney for Alameda County, California and Attorney General of California.His tenure as California...
,
Louis B. MayerLouis Burt Mayer was a Russian-born American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
and Marshall Hale. The Republicans in Chicago renominated President
Herbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted government intervention under the rubric "economic...
and Vice President
Charles CurtisCharles Curtis was a United States Representative, a longtime United States Senator from Kansas later chosen as Senate Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues, and the 31st Vice President of the United States...
.
In November 1932, he was elected to the State Assembly, serving two years, and in 1934 to the
State SenateThe California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
, serving four years. He did not seek re-election in 1938, but remained extremely active in the California Republican Party, serving in a number of roles. He was also influential on the national scene, serving as the chairman of the executive committee of the
Republican National CommitteeThe Republican National Committee provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is also responsible for organizing and...
from 1940 to 1942. Knowland campaigned for
1940 Republican presidential candidateThe United States presidential election of 1940 was fought in the shadow of World War II as the United States was emerging from the Great Depression. Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt , a Democrat, broke with tradition and ran for a third term, which became a major issue...
Wendell L. Willkie.
World War II
In June 1942, Knowland was
draftedConscription is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by an established authority. It is most often used in the specific sense of requiring citizens to serve in the armed forces...
into the
U.S. ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
for
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service. After a few months service as a private and sergeant, he went through Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a
second lieutenantSecond Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.In British English the rank is pronounced second /lɛf'tɛnənt/ , while in American English it is pronounced second /lu'tɛnənt/ ....
. He served as an aide to
Brigadier GeneralBrigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field...
M. L. Stockton, then attended military government school. He was sent to
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
in 1944, landed in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
a month after D-Day, and served in various rear-echelon duties, rising to the rank of major.
World War II Awards
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American Campaign MedalThe American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
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European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign MedalThe European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
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World War II Victory MedalThe World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. The decoration commemorates military service during World War II and is awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of...
|
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Army of Occupation MedalThe Army of Occupation Medal is a military decoration of the United States military which was established by the United States War Department in 1946. The medal was created in the aftermath of the Second World War to recognize those who had performed occupation service in either Germany or Japan...
|
United States Senator
Hiram JohnsonHiram Warren Johnson was a leading American progressive and later isolationist politician from California; he served as Governor from 1911 to 1917, and as a United States Senator from 1917 to 1945.-Early life:...
, the senior U.S. Senator from California, died on August 6 1945. On August 14 1945, Governor Earl Warren appointed Knowland to fill Johnson's seat. Warren first offered the Senate seat to
Joseph R. KnowlandJoseph Russell Knowland was an American politician and newspaper publisher. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California and was owner, editor and publisher of the Oakland Tribune. He was the father of United States Senator William F...
, who declined Warren's offer, saying: "I lost the Senate Seat in 1914, I have the responsibility of the
Oakland Tribune, Bring my boy, Billy home". Major William F. Knowland was serving on special duty with the Army Public Relations Section as part of the European Occupation Forces in Paris. Knowland always said he learned of his new job from an article in
Stars and StripesStars and Stripes is an independent news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers'...
; Knowland's wife Helen tried to telephone him with the news, but she couldn't get past the military
censorCensorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor.-Rationale:...
s, who said it was not essential government business.
Knowland was sworn in as a freshman Senator of the
79th CongressThe Seventy-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1945 to January 3, 1947, during the last months of...
September 6 1945, the day the Senate adjourned in memory of Hiram Johnson. He was assigned membership in the Commerce Committee, the Irrigation and Reclamation and Immigration Committee, and the National Defense Committee (formerly the Truman Committee).
In 1946, in a special election for the last part of Johnson's term, Knowland defeated
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
Will Rogers, Jr.William Vann Rogers, generally known as Will Rogers, Jr. , was a son of legendary humorist Will Rogers and his wife, the former Betty Blake . He was a Democratic U. S. Representative from California from January 3, 1943 until May 23, 1944, when he resigned to return to the United States Army...
by 334,000 votes. He also defeated Rogers in the general election by nearly 261,000 votes, winning a full term in the Senate in his own right.
Knowland became a caustic critic of the
Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
administration. He was critical of the actions in the "loss" of
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
to
CommunismCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
and the
Korean WarThe Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...
. However, Knowland admired the former Senator from
MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
personally.
Knowland was known as the "Senator from
FormosaTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
" for his strong support for the
NationalistThe Kuomintang of China , translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s. It is the founding and the ruling political party of the ROC...
government in China against the
CommunistThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
s.
At the
1948 Republican National ConventionThe 1948 Republican National Convention was held at the Municipal Auditorium, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 21 to June 25, 1948.New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey had paved the way to win the Republican presidential nomination in the primaries where he had beaten Minnesota Governor Harold...
, Knowland made the nominating speech for Governor Warren as the Vice Presidential candidate, and was seen on the podium with presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey.
In the June 1952 primary election, Knowland "
cross-filedIn American politics, cross-filing occurs when a candidate runs in the primary election of not only his own party, but also that of one or more other parties, generally in the hope of reducing or eliminating his competition at the general election...
", running for both the Republican and Democratic nominations. He got 2.5 million votes to 750,000 for his Democratic opponent,
Clinton McKinnonClinton "Bär" McKinnon is an American musician, perhaps best known playing saxophone in seminal San Francisco based band Mr. Bungle....
, and won both nominations. In the general election he was opposed only by an "Independent Progressive", and won with 88% of the vote, carrying 57 of the 58 counties.
The
1952 Republican National ConventionThe 1952 Republican National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois from July 7 to July 11, 1952 and nominated the popular general and war hero Dwight D...
met in Chicago.
General of the ArmyGeneral of the Army is a military rank used in some countries to denote a senior military leader, usually a General in command of a nation's Army. It may also be the title given to a General who commands an Army in the field....
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was a five-star general in the United States Army and the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. During the Second World War, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, with responsibility for planning and supervising the...
and U.S. Senator Robert A. Taft of
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
, were the two main candiadtes. On July 8, 1952, Taft asked Bill if he were interested in the vice presidency. Eisenhower was nominated and selected for his ticket California's Junior U.S. Senator Richard M. Nixon.
September 23, 1952, Republican vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon gave the
Checkers speechThe Checkers speech or Fund speech was an address made by United States Senator from California and Republican vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon on television and radio on September 23, 1952. Senator Nixon had been accused of improprieties relating to a fund established by his backers to...
.
Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower's aides contacted Bill Knowland, and persuaded him to fly from Hawaii to join General Eisenhower and be available as a potential replacement running mate. However, Eisenhower seeing public opinion retained Nixon on the 1952 GOP ticket.
When Senator Robert A. Taft died on July 31, 1953, Knowland was chosen to succeed him as Senate Republican Leader (Majority Leader from 1953 to 1955; Minority Leader from 1955 to 1959). At age 44, he is the youngest senator to occupy the position of Majority Leader. His Democratic counterpart was
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969 after his service as the Vice President of the United States from 1961 to 1963...
of Texas.
Knowland called the Senate the "most exclusive club of 96". He was slow to criticize its most infamous member,
WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
's Republican junior Senator
Joseph McCarthyJoseph Raymond McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
.
Knowland briefly floated his candidacy for
President in 1956The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly. In the United States Senate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had become a national figure after chairing congressional...
, but withdrew when Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to run for re-election. On appointing Knowland as delegate to the Eleventh General Assembly of the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
in 1956, Eisenhower wrote: "Knowland brings to his leadership post an absolute, unflinching integrity that rises above politics. In the councils of government, he inspires faith in his motives and gives weight to his words."
Knowland had a long-running battle with Richard Nixon, with whom he served in the Senate from 1951 to 1953, for influence in
California Republican PartyThe California Republican Party is the California affiliate of the national Republican Party. Its chairman is Ron Nehring and is based in Burbank, California, a suburb of Los Angeles....
affairs. Nonetheless, he gave Nixon the constitutional oath for
Vice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
in 1953 and 1957. It was reported that Knowland said afterwards, "I had to have my picture taken with that dirty bastard!". In 1968, Nixon came across the
Bay BridgeThere are several well-known bridges referred to as the Bay Bridge:* The Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland, United States*The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia, United States*The Newark Bay Bridge in Newark, New Jersey, United States...
from San Francisco to Oakland, an aide pointed out the Oakland Tribune Tower, Nixon replied, "Bastard."
Knowland was Temporary Chairman of the
1956 Republican National ConventionThe 1956 Republican National Convention was held by the Republican Party of the United States at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California, from August 20 to August 23, 1956. U.S. Senator William F. Knowland was temporary chairman and former speaker of the House Joseph W. Martin, Jr. served as...
, held at the San Francisco
Cow PalaceThe Cow Palace is an indoor arena in Daly City, California, situated on the city's border with neighboring San Francisco.-History:...
.
Knowland and Johnson crafted and passed, in the Senate, the watered down
Civil Rights Act of 1957The Civil Rights Act of 1957, primarily a voting rights bill, was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since Reconstruction. After it was proposed to Congress by then-President Dwight Eisenhower, Senator James Strom Thurmond sustained the longest one-person...
. It was the first such act since Reconstruction. After the bill was passed Knowland wept because the bill's weakness was a setback for civil rights.
In 1958, Knowland decided to run for
Governor of CaliforniaThe Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual "State of the State" addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced.The position was...
instead of re-election to the Senate. His father was shaken by the decision. The elder Knowland cherished the U.S. Senate seat, which voters had denied him in 1914.
Lyndon Johnson valued Knowland's friendship from their years in the Senate. Johnson spoke in the
Congressional RecordThe Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
on January 9 1957, on Knowland's departure from the Senate: "In the hill country of Texas, where the Johnsons have lived for more than 100 years, we talk of people who 'will go to the well' with a man. It is an expression rarely used, and it implies the kind of praise. It means that the man deserves the utmost of confidence in any situation - no matter how dangerous or how risky it may be. Bill Knowland is that kind of a man. He has the qualities of head and heart which have made him a great public servant. One of the proudest boasts of my life is that he is my treasured and trusted friend."
Later, President Johnson would look for advice and solace from Knowland. Their friendship lasted until Johnson's death in 1973.
Gubernatorial campaign
thumb
Knowland secured the Republican nomination for governor after a brutal contest with incumbent Goodwin J. Knight. In the "Big Switch," Knight agreed to run for Knowland's U.S. Senate seat while Knowland ran for governor. Many felt Knowland would use the governorship to control the California Republican delegation in 1960, and try to deny Nixon the Presidential nomination and take it himself.
A key issue in the campaign was Proposition 18, an
initiativeIn political science, the initiative provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or ordinance, or, in its minimal form, to simply oblige the executive or...
to enact a
Right-to-work lawRight-to-work laws are statutes enforced in twenty-two U.S. states, mostly in the southern or western U.S., allowed under provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibit agreements between trade unions and employers making membership or payment of union dues or "fees" a condition of employment,...
in California.
Knowland endorsed Proposition 18 in excessive language, but in fact Proposition 18 was highly unpopular and the endorsement hurt Knowland. He was soundly defeated in the
general electionIn a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election...
by the Democratic candidate,
California Attorney GeneralThe California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" The Attorney General carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice.The...
Edmund G. Brown. (Representative
Clair EngleClair Engle was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a United States Senator from California.- Early Years :Engle was born in Bakersfield, California...
defeated Knight.) This effectively ended Knowland's political career. Many California Republicans were defeated. Among Joseph R. Knowland's protegés, Representative
John J. Allen, Jr.John J. Allen, Jr. was the US Representative from California's 7th district from 1947 to 1959. He served as Undersecretary of Commerce for Transportation under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1959 to 1961, helping to lay the groundwork for the future Department of Transportation. He retired...
lost his House seat and Alameda County Supervisor Kent D. Pursel lost his race for the State Senate. To pay off some of Knowland's campaign debts, his father had to sell his
Oakland Tribune radio station KLX to Crowell Collier Broadcasting. William F. Knowland never again ran for any elective office.
After politics
William F. Knowland's brother Russ died on October 6 1961. William Knowland became the sole successor to his father and to control of the
Oakland Tribune.
The
1964 Republican National ConventionThe 1964 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States took place in the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California, on July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had only been one national Republican convention on the West Coast. Many believed that a convention at San Francisco...
, again in San Francisco's Cow Palace, nominated
Barry GoldwaterBarry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. He was also a Major General in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was known as "Mr...
for President. Knowland backed the Goldwater-Miller ticket and spoke for the
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
Senator all over the nation.
Knowland was the titular head of the California Republican Party from 1959 to 1967, when he passed the party leadership to the new governor,
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
.
Knowland became President, Editor, and Publisher of the
Oakland Tribune in 1966, after the death of his father. He kept the
Tribune a solidly Republican paper. Known by the Tribune staff as
The Senator. His son, Joseph W. Knowland, was Assistant Publisher with the position of Assistant General Manager.
However,
OaklandOakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and a major West Coast port city, located on San Francisco Bay about eight miles east of the City of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat...
and the East Bay Area were changing, with the
Free Speech MovementThe Free Speech Movement was a student protest which took place during the 1964–1965 academic year on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley under the informal leadership of students Mario Savio, Brian Turner, Bettina Apthecker, Steve Weissman, Art Goldberg, Jackie Goldberg, and...
at
UC BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
, the Black Panthers, and "white flight" to the suburbs.
In a cost-cutting move that hurt the
Tribune, the Southern
Alameda CountyAlameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census it had a population of 1,443,741, making it the 7th largest county in the state, and by 2006 it was estimated 1,457,426...
and
Contra Costa CountyContra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2006, the US Census Bureau estimated it had a population of 1,024,319...
editions were trimmed. This opened the areas to Floyd Sparks'
Hayward Daily Review and Dean Lesher's
Contra Costa Times. In early 1968,
Tribune circulation rose because the major San Francisco newspapers were on strike. When the
San Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireSan Francisco Chronicle is Northern California's largest newspaper, and one of the largest in the United States, serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area, but distributed throughout...
and
San Francisco Examiner returned,
Tribune sales fell in home delivery and on-the-street sales.
As editor and publisher, Knowland took an interest in local affairs along with this job; no more would his mind have to be on national and foreign policy. He offered a $100,000 reward for the conviction of those responsible for the 1973 murder of
Marcus FosterMarcus Albert Foster was a respected African-American educator who gained a national reputation for educational excellence while serving as principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Associate Superintendent of Schools in Philadelphia, and as the first black...
. The
Symbionese Liberation ArmyThe Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army. The group committed bank robberies, two murders and other acts of violence.The S.L.A...
(SLA) claimed responsibility. The SLA subsequently kidnapped Patricia Hearst and
Atlanta Constitution editor
J. Reginald MurphyJ. Reginald Murphy was the editor of the Atlanta Constitution and San Francisco Examiner....
. These acts made Knowland fearful for his own safety.
The
Tribune turned 100 years old on February 21 1974. Knowland spoke on the occasion: "For 100 years this newspaper has participated in the growth of Alameda and Contra Costa counties... Now as we look into the future it becomes ever more important that newspapers here and in other cities keep the public adequately informed." He went to all departments on that Thursday. At the banquet at Goodman's Hall, Governor
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
praised the
Tribune and the Knowland Family.
The
Oakland Tribune was sold in 1977 by the Knowland family. After three ownership changes, today the newspaper is only a masthead of various editions of the Alameda Newspaper Group.
Personal life
William F. Knowland was married to Helen Davis Herrick, whom he had met in the sixth grade. They were married on New Year's Eve in 1926. They were divorced on March 15, 1972. He then married Ann Dickson on April 29 1972; she survived him.
He and Herrick had three children: Emelyn K. Jewett, Joseph William Knowland, and Estelle Knowland. He had two stepchildren, Kay and Steve Sessinghaus, from his marriage to Dickson. He was known as Big Da, to his family, so named by his first grandchild, Emelyn Grace Jewett.
Suicide
On February 23, 1974, Knowland died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, an apparent
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
, at his summer home near
GuernevilleGuerneville is a town that is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,441. Guerneville is a popular family destination, gay resort, and camping center in the Russian River Valley. It was founded by the Guerne family four generations...
,
Sonoma County, CaliforniaSonoma County, located on the northern coast of California, is one of the northernmost counties of the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area, U.S. Its population as of July 2008 is estimated at 466,741 by the United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Its population at the 2000...
. His funeral was held at First Congregational Church in Oakland. At the service was played the rarely heard Official State Song, "
I Love You, CaliforniaI Love You, California is the official state song of California. The lyrics were written by Francis Bernard Silverwood , a Los Angeles clothier and the words were subsequently put to music by Abraham Franklin Frankenstein , then conductor of the Orpheum Theatre Orchestra...
".
Remains
At the Main Mausoleum of the
Mountain ViewMountain View is the name of several places:in the United States*Mountain View, Arkansas*Mountain View, California, in Silicon Valley*Mountain View, former name of Magalia, California, in Butte County...
Cemetery , in
Oakland, CaliforniaOakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and a major West Coast port city, located on San Francisco Bay about eight miles east of the City of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat...
on Floor I, M8J, N2, TI.
Sen. W.F. Knowland, 1908 - 1974 is with his first wife,
Helen Knowland Whyte, 1907 - 1981 and her mother,
Estelle Davis Herrick, 1881 - 1963 also contained are the remains of
Ruth Lamb Caldwell Narfi, 1909 - 2003 and her first husband,
Hubert A. Caldwell, 1907 - 1972 and second husband,
Gaetano "Tani" Narfi, 1905 - 1996.
At the Chapel of Memories in
Oakland, CaliforniaOakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and a major West Coast port city, located on San Francisco Bay about eight miles east of the City of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat...
, two tiers down from his father,
Joseph R. KnowlandJoseph Russell Knowland was an American politician and newspaper publisher. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California and was owner, editor and publisher of the Oakland Tribune. He was the father of United States Senator William F...
in the
Serenity Section Tier 4 Number 6, a double book urn has only one side inscribed,
U.S. Senator William F. Knowland, 1908-1974.
Further reading
- Montgomery, Gayle B. and Johnson, James W., One Step from the White House: The Rise and Fall of Senator William F. Knowland. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1998. ISBN 0-520-21194-4. Online at UC Press.
- Wyatt, Daniel E., Joseph Russell Knowland: The Political Years, 1899-1915. San Francisco: D. Wyatt. 1982.
External links
Retrieved on 2008-02-09 Retrieved on 2008-02-09
- Oakland Tribune Archives
- William F. Knowland Papers Bancroft Library
The Bancroft Library is the primary special collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired as a gift/purchase from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, with the proviso that it retain The Bancroft Library name in perpetuity...
, University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
- Knowland Family California at Political Graveyard
- William Knowland Political History