Ten Facts About Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland
By Allegra Hartley
Posted 11/13/06
- Steny Hoyer was born June 14, 1939, in New York. He spent his childhood in New York and Florida before moving to Maryland in 1955.
- He is of Danish ancestry, and his first name is an adaptation of the Danish name Steen.
- He met his late wife, Judith, while attending Suitland High School in Prince George's County.
- He originally wanted to work in public relations but changed his mind after attending a campaign speech by John F. Kennedy at the University of Maryland.
- He graduated with a political science degree from the University of Maryland in 1963, where he was selected as "Outstanding Male Graduate." He received a law degree from Georgetown University in 1966.
- He was elected to the Maryland Senate in 1966 at age 27. He served as Senate president from 1975 to 1978, the youngest to hold that office in Maryland history.
- He ran for Congress in 1981 in a special election to fill the seat of incumbent Gladys Spellman, who was in an irreversible coma.
- House Speaker Tip O'Neill reprimanded him during his first speech on the House floor for acknowledging family and friends watching from the gallery.
- His wife died of cancer in 1997. They had three daughters and three grandchildren. He became a great-grandfather at age 67.
- He is the highest-ranking member of Congress in Maryland history. He is the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives in southern Maryland history.
Sources
Almanac of American Politics
http://hoyer.house.gov/About/
Washington Post
Roll Call
The Capitol (Annapolis, Md.)
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