Known as the “Happy Warrior,” Hubert Humphrey represented Minnesota in the Senate from 1949 to 1964, presided over the Senate as vice president from 1965 to 1969, and then returned to the Senate again in 1971. A dedicated advocate for civil rights, Humphrey gained national attention in 1948 for his powerful Democratic convention speech calling for full equality regardless of race, class, or religion. He served as floor manager for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Working closely with his Republican counterpart, Thomas Kuchel, Humphrey skillfully maneuvered that landmark legislation to passage. He also proposed creation of a Peace Corps, pressed for a nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union, and sponsored the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment bill of 1978. Following his death on January 13, 1978, Humphrey was accorded the honor of lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. In 2011 the Senate passed a special resolution to commemorate the centennial of Humphrey’s birth.
