William H. Meyer

William Henry Meyer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont's At-large district
In office January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961
Preceded by	Winston L. Prouty
Succeeded by	Robert Stafford
Personal details
Born	December 29, 1914 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	December 16, 1983 (aged 68) West Rupert, Vermont
Political party	Democratic (until 1970) Liberty Union (after 1970)

William Henry Meyer (December 29, 1914 – December 16, 1983), was a Member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont.

Born in Philadelphia, he attended the public schools of Philadelphia and graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1936. He worked as a timber cruiser, State and Federal forester, and Civilian Conservation Corps technician and supervisor in West Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin, and New Jersey from 1936 to 1940. He moved to a farm in Bennington County, Vermont, in 1945. He worked with the Soil Conservation Service in Vermont from 1940 to 1950. In 1951 he entered private practice as a consulting forester and became executive director of the Vermont Forest and Farmland Foundation.

He was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-sixth Congress (January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961), defeating the Republican candidate, former Governor Harold Arthur. He became the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Vermont since the founding of the Republican party 104 years earlier. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1960 to the Eighty-seventh Congress, when he was defeated by Republican Governor Robert Stafford. He was appointed as a consultant, Technical Review Staff, Department of the Interior in May 1961, and served until December 1963.

He was the unsuccessful candidate for Democratic nomination as United States Senator in 1962, 1964, and 1970. He was a delegate to Vermont State Democratic conventions in 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968. He was the unsuccessful candidate for election in 1972 to the Ninety-third Congress. He was a resident of West Rupert, Vermont until his death there December 16, 1983. He was cremated and had his ashes interred at his home in West Rupert.^[1]

By one measure Representative Meyer was the most left-wing member to serve in Congress during the 1937-2002 period.^[2] He was one of the leading founders of the nonviolent socialist Liberty Union Party of Vermont in June 1970. He was their party's nominee for United States Senator after failing to obtain the Democratic nomination that year, receiving 0.91% of the vote.^[3]

His son Karl Meyer is a noted radical pacifist.^[4]

References

1. Bioguide.congress.gov
2. "Is John Kerry A Liberal?" Voteview.com
3. Official election results
4. Magazine.uchicago.edu

External links

• United States Congress. "William H. Meyer (id: M000682)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Voteview.com
• Our Campaigns (1970 Vermont U.S. Senate General Election Results)
• Inventory of the William H. Meyer Papers, Special Collections, University of Vermont Library