Winston L. Prouty

Winston L. Prouty
United States Senator from Vermont
In office January 3, 1959 – September 10, 1971
Preceded by	Ralph Flanders
Succeeded by	Robert T. Stafford
Member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's At-large district
In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1959
Preceded by	Charles Albert Plumley
Succeeded by	William H. Meyer
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office 1941–1949
Personal details
Born	(1906-09-01)September 1, 1906 Newport, Vermont
Died	September 10, 1971(1971-09-10) (aged 65) Boston, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican

Winston Lewis Prouty (September 1, 1906 – September 10, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Vermont from 1959 until his death from gastric cancer in Boston, Massachusetts on September 10, 1971. He was previously a member of the United States House of Representatives, serving Vermont's At-large congressional district, from 1951 to 1959.

Early life and education

Winston Prouty was born in Newport, Vermont, to Willard Robert and Margaret (née Lockhart) Prouty.^[1] His family owned Prouty & Miller Lumber Company, a lumber and building material business.^[2] His family was also involved in politics; his father and grandfather both served as state legislators, his uncle Charles A. Prouty was a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and his other uncle George H. Prouty served as Governor of Vermont (1908–1910).^[1]

He received his early education at public schools in Newport, and attended the Bordentown Military Institute in New Jersey.^[3] He then studied at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.^[4] During college, he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.^[5]

Early career

Prouty returned to Newport and joined his family's business, Prouty & Miller.^[2] He also served as director of the National Bank of Newport and of Associated Industries of Vermont.^[3] A Republican, he was mayor of Newport from 1938 to 1941.^[4] He was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1940, serving from 1941 to 1949.^[4] During his last two years in the legislature, he served as Speaker of the House.^[3] He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont in 1948, losing to state Senator and future Governor Harold J. Arthur.^[3] From 1949 to 1950, he served as chairman of the state Water Conservation Board.^[4]

Congressional career

In 1950, after longtime incumbent Charles Albert Plumley decided not to run again, Prouty announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's At-large congressional district.^[2] He won the Republican nomination in a four-way race that included Governor Arthur.^[3] In the general election, he defeated his Democratic opponent, Herbert B. Comings, by a margin of 73%-26%.^[6] He was subsequently re-elected to three more terms, never receiving less than 61% of the vote.^[7]

During his tenure in the House, Prouty served as a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1958; reelected in 1964 and 1970 and served from January 3, 1959, until his death from gastric cancer in Boston, Massachusetts.^[8] He was interred in Pine Grove Cemetery, Newport, Vermont.

He was eulogized by President Richard Nixon.

References

External links

• Inventory of the Winston L. Prouty Papers, Special Collections, University of Vermont Library

United States Senators from Vermont
Class 1	M. Robinson Tichenor Chipman Smith J. Robinson Tichenor Seymour Swift Phelps Foot Edmunds Proctor Stewart Page Greene Partridge Austin Flanders Prouty Stafford Jeffords Sanders
Class 3	Bradley Paine Bradley Chase Fisk Palmer Chase Prentiss Crafts Upham Phelps Brainerd Collamer Poland Morrill Ross Dillingham Dale Gibson, Sr. Gibson, Jr. Aiken Leahy