- 1914 March 28
|
- Born in Rumford, Maine
|
- 1936
|
- Graduated cum laude from Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, with degree in history and government.
|
- 1939
|
- Graduated from Cornell Law School and admitted to Massachusetts bar.
|
- 1940
|
- Admitted to Maine bar and established law practice in Waterville, Maine.
|
- 1942
|
- Enlisted in U.S. Navy.
|
- 1945
|
- Discharged from U.S. Navy and returned to Waterville to resume law practice.
|
- 1946
|
- Elected to Maine House of Representatives; reelected in 1948 and 1950 and served as minority (Democratic) leader during second and third terms.
|
- 1947
|
- Ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Waterville.
|
- 1948 May 29
|
- Married Jane Frances Gray in Waterville; children: Stephen (born 1949), Ellen (1950), Melinda (1956), Martha (1958), and Edmund Jr. (1961).
|
- 1951-1952
|
- Served as director of Maine District of Office of Price Stabilization.
|
- 1952-1956
|
- Served on Democratic National Committee.
|
- 1954
|
- Elected governor of Maine; reelected in 1956.
|
- 1955
|
- Received honorary doctor of laws degree from Bates College.
|
- 1957-1966
|
- Elected member of Bates College Board of Trustees; served again from 1970 to 1988.
|
- 1958
|
- Elected to United States Senate; reelected in 1964, 1970, and 1976. Appointed to Committees on Banking and Currency (until 1970), Government Operations (until 1978), and Public Works.
|
- 1959
|
- Visited Soviet Union as member of Public Works Committee.
|
- 1961
|
- Appointed to Legislative Review Committee of Democratic Policy Committee and to Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (until 1977).
|
- 1961-1978
|
- Served on Special Committee on Aging.
|
- 1962
|
- Appointed first chair of Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, Committee on Public Works.
|
- 1963
|
- Served as chief sponsor and floor manager of Clean Air Act, first major federal law aimed at air pollution control, amended in 1967 and 1970.
|
- 1964
|
- Initiated establishment of Roosevelt Campobello International Park at site of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s island summer estate on border between Maine and New Brunswick, and presided as chair of joint U.S.-Canadian commission when United States had chair until his death in 1996.
|
- 1965
|
- Served as chief sponsor and floor manager of Water Quality Act, amended in 1970; participated in second Mansfield mission, which warned President Lyndon B. Johnson against open-ended U.S. commitment in Vietnam.
|
- 1966
|
- Elected assistant Democratic whip; served as floor manager of Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development (Model Cities) Act and Clean Water Restoration Act.
|
- 1967
|
- Participated in U.S. mission to observe elections in Republic of (South) Vietnam.
|
- 1967-1969
|
- Served as chair of Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
|
- 1968 February 28
|
- Wrote President Johnson privately, urging halt to bombing of North Vietnam.
|
- 1968
|
- Ran unsuccessfully as Democratic candidate for vice presidency of United States.
|
- 1969
|
- Introduced Intergovernmental Revenue Act; voted against nomination of Clement Haynsworth to U.S. Supreme Court.
|
- 1969 October 15
|
- Called for announced schedule for withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Indochina, at Bates College.
|
- 1970
|
- Helped pass Water Quality Improvement Act; cosponsored McGovern-Hatfield resolution to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam; voted against nomination of G. Harold Carswell to U.S. Supreme Court; proposed six-month ban by United States and Soviet Union on further deployment of land- and sea-based ballistic missiles, strategic bombers, and antiballistic missile radar construction and upgrading.
|
- 1970 April 22
|
- Addressed Earth Day gatherings in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
|
- 1970 November 3
|
- Delivered national television and radio speech in response to President Richard M. Nixon’s election eve statements.
|
- 1971
|
- Became member of Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (until 1974) and traveled to Western Europe, Soviet Union, and Middle East.
|
- 1972 January 4
|
- Formally announced candidacy for Democratic nomination for presidency of United States; withdrew April 26, 1972.
|
- 1974
|
- Founded and elected chair of Senate Committee on Budget; served until 1980.
|
- 1979-1980
|
- Served on Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
|
- 1980, May 7
|
- Resigned from U.S. Senate to become U.S. secretary of state, serving until January 20, 1981.
|
- 1981 January 16
|
- Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom.
|
- 1981-1996
|
- Practiced law in Washington, D.C., with Chadbourne, Parke, Whiteside & Wolfe (later Chadbourne & Parke)
|
- 1982-1991
|
- Served as chair of Nestle Infant Formula Audit Commission to investigate complaints against Nestle Corporation about violations of International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
|
- 1984 June 9
|
- Received Benjamin E. Mays Medal for distinguished accomplishment by alumnus of Bates College.
|
- 1986-1987
|
- Served on President’s Special Review Board (Tower Commission) to investigate secret U.S. arms sales to Iran and diversion of proceeds from those sales to rebels fighting Nicaraguan government.
|
- 1989-1990
|
- Chaired Maine Commission on Legal Needs, sponsored by Maine Bar Foundation to conduct investigation and make recommendations regarding problem of providing poor with equal access to legal assistance.
|
- 1996 March 26
|
- Died, Washington, D.C.; interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
|
- 2004 December 25
|
- Jane Gray Muskie died, Washington, D.C.; interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
|