Members of the U.S. Congress Who Have Died of Other Than Natural Causes while in Office

Members of the U.S. Congress Who Have Died of Other Than Natural Causes while in Office

ȱ
Ž–‹Ž›œȱ˜?ȱ?‘Žȱǯǯȱ˜—?›Žœœȱ‘˜ȱ ŠŸŽȱ
’Ž?ȱ˜?ȱ?‘Ž›ȱ‘Š—ȱŠ?ž›Š•ȱŠžœŽœȱ‘’•Žȱ’—ȱ
??’ŒŽȱ
’•?›Ž?ȱ–Ž›ȱ
™ŽŒ’Š•’œ?ȱ˜—ȱ?‘Žȱ˜—?›Žœœȱ
Œ?˜‹Ž›ȱřŗǰȱŘŖŖŘȱ
˜—?›Žœœ’˜—Š•ȱŽœŽŠ›Œ‘ȱŽ›Ÿ’ŒŽȱ
ŝȬśŝŖŖȱ
   ǯŒ›œǯ?˜Ÿȱ
şŞȬŝřśȱ
ȱŽ™˜›?ȱ?˜›ȱ˜—?›Žœœ
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress

Ž–‹Ž›œȱ˜?ȱ?‘Žȱǯǯȱ˜—?›Žœœȱ‘˜ȱ ŠŸŽȱ’Ž?ȱ˜?ȱ?‘Ž›ȱ‘Š—ȱŠ?ž›Š•ȱŠžœŽœȱ
ȱ
ž––Š›¢ȱ
This report provides an alphabetical list of the 61 Members of Congress who have died of other
than natural causes while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate. Each
entry includes party affiliation, the name of the state that the Member represented, dates of
service, chamber in which the Member served, and cause of death.
The report does not presume to be a complete list of Members who have died from other than
natural causes while in office. CRS relied exclusively on available sources, and the report reflects
only the extent to which they indicated the cause of a Member’s death.

˜—?›Žœœ’˜—Š•ȱŽœŽŠ›Œ‘ȱŽ›Ÿ’ŒŽȱ

Ž–‹Ž›œȱ˜?ȱ?‘Žȱǯǯȱ˜—?›Žœœȱ‘˜ȱ ŠŸŽȱ’Ž?ȱ˜?ȱ?‘Ž›ȱ‘Š—ȱŠ?ž›Š•ȱŠžœŽœȱ
ȱ
˜—?Ž—?œȱ
Š‹•Žœȱ
Table 1. Members of the U.S. Congress Who Have Died of Other Than Natural Causes
While in Office............................................................................................................................. 1

˜—?ŠŒ?œȱ
Author Contact Information ............................................................................................................ 5

˜—?›Žœœ’˜—Š•ȱŽœŽŠ›Œ‘ȱŽ›Ÿ’ŒŽȱ

ȱ
Table 1. Members of the U.S. Congress Who Have Died of Other Than Natural Causes While in Office
Member
Party State Dates of Servicea
Chamber Cause of Death and Date of Death
ANDERSON, Carl Carey
D
OH 03/04/1909- 10/01/1912
House
Died in an automobile accident near Fostoria, OH on 10/01/1912.
BAKER, Edward Dickinson
R IL
03/04/1845-01/15/1847 House
Killed in the Battle of Balls Bluff, VA on 10/21/1861.
03/04/1849-03/03/1851
R OR
10/21/1860-10/21/1861 Senate
BATES, George Joseph
R
MA 01/03/1937-11/01/1949
House
Died in an airplane accident at Washington National Airport on 11/01/1949.
BEGICH, Nicholas
D
AL 01/03/1971-10/16/1972
House
Died in a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness on 10/16/1972.
BOGGS, Thomas Hale
D
LA 01/03/1941-01/03/1943
House
Died in a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness on 10/16/1972.
01/03/1947-10/16/1972
BONO, Sonny
R
CA 01/03/1995-01/05/1998
House
Died in a skiing accident at Lake Tahoe, NV on 01/05/1998.
BOYLE, Charles Augustus
D
IL
01/03/1955-11/04/1959
House
Died in an automobile accident in Chicago, IL on 11/04/1959.
BRANDEGEE, Frank B.
R
CT 11/05/1902-05/10/1905
House
Committed suicide in Washington, DC on 10/14/1924.
05/10/1905-10/14/1924
Senate
BRODERICK, David Colbreth
D
CA 03/04/1857-09/16/1859
Senate
Mortally wounded by David S. Terry, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
California, in a duel in San Francisco on 09/13/1859 and died on 09/16/1859.
BYRON, William Devereux
D
MD 01/03/1939-02/27/1941
House
Died in an airplane crash in Jonesboro, GA on 02/27/1941.
CHAPMAN, Virgil Mundy
D
KY 03/04/1925-03/03/1929
House
Died from injuries received in an automobile accident in Bethesda, MD on
03/04/1931-01/03/1949

03/08/1951.
01/03/1949-03/08/1951
Senate
CHICKERING, Charles Addison
R
NY 03/04/1893-02/13/1900
House
Died from injuries received in an accidental fall from a window of the Grand
Union Hotel in New York City on 02/13/1900.
CILLEY, Johnathan
Db
ME 03/04/1837-02/24/1838
House
Killed in a duel on the Marlboro Pike, near Washington, DC by William J.
Graves, a Representative from Kentucky on 02/24/1838.
CLARKE, John Davenport
R
NY 03/04/1921-03/03/1925
House
Died as a result of an automobile collision near Delhi, NY on 11/05/1933.
03/04/1927-11/05/1933
COFFEY, Robert Lewis, Jr.
D
PA 01/03/1949-04/20/1949
House
Died in an airplane accident in Albuquerque, NM on 04/20/1949.
COLLINS, George W.
D
IL
11/03/1970-12/08/1972
House
Died in an airplane crash in Chicago, IL on 12/08/1972.
CUTTING, Bronson Murray
R
NM 12/29/1927-12/06/1928
Senate
Died in an airplane crash near Atlanta, MO on 05/06/1935.
03/04/1929-05/06/1935
DITTER, John William
R
PA 03/04/1933-11/21/1943
House
Died in an airplane crash near Columbia, PA on 11/21/1943.
Ȭŗȱ

ȱ
Member
Party State Dates of Servicea
Chamber Cause of Death and Date of Death
EAST, John P.
R
NC 01/03/1981-06/29/1986
Senate
Committed suicide in Greenville, NC on 06/29/1986.
ELLIOTT, Douglas
R
PA 04/26/1960-06/19/1960
House
Committed suicide in Horse Valley, PA on 06/19/1960.
ERVIN, Joseph W.
D
NC 01/03/1945-12/25/1945
House
Committed suicide in Washington, DC on 12/25/1945.
FOLGER, Alonzo Dillard
D
NC 01/03/1939-04/30/1941
House
Died in an automobile accident in Mount Airy, NC on 04/30/1941.
GANLY, James Vincent
D
NY 03/04/1919-03/03/1921
House
Died in an automobile accident in New York City on 09/07/1923.
03/04/1923-09/07/1923
HAMILTON, Cornelius Springer
R
OH 03/04/1867-12/22/1867
House
Killed by an insane son in Marysville, OH on 12/22/1867.
HEINKE, George Henry
R
NE 01/03/1939-01/02/1940
House
Died as a result of injuries received in an automobile accident near Morrilton,
AR while en route to Washington DC to attend the opening of the 3rd session
of the 76th Congress on 01/02/1940.
HEINZ, H. John III
R
PA 11/02/1971-01/03/1977 House
Died in a mid-air collision between his charter plane and a helicopter over a
01/03/1977-04/04/1991
Senate
suburban Philadelphia schoolyard on 04/04/1991.
HINDS, James
R
AR 06/22/1868-10/22/1868
House
Assassinated near Indian Bays, AR on 10/22/1868.
HUNT, Lester C.
D
WY 01/03/1949-06/19/1954
Senate
Committed suicide in Washington, DC on 06/19/1954.
HUSTING, Paul Oscar
D
WI 03/04/1915-10/21/1917
Senate
Died accidentally while duck hunting on Rush Lake, near Picketts, WI on
10/21/1917.
JOHNSTON, Charles Clement
Dc
VA 03/04/1831-06/17/1832
House
Drowned near one of the docks in Alexandria, VA on 06/17/1832.
JOHNSTON, Josiah Stoddard
D
LA 03/04/1821-03/03/1823
House
Killed by an explosion on the steamboat Lioness on the Red River in Louisiana
01/15/1824-05/19/1833
Senate
on 05/19/1833.
KAYNOR, William Kirk
R
MA 03/04/1929-12/20/1929
House
Died in an airplane accident near Washington, DC on 12/20/1929.
KENDALL, Samuel A.
R
PA 03/04/1919-01/08/1933
House
Committed suicide in his office in the House Office Building on 01/08/1933
KENNEDY, Robert F.
D
NY 03/03/1965-06/06/1968
Senate
Assassinated in Los Angeles, CA on 06/06/1968.
KINNARD, George L.
D
IN
03/04/1833-11/26/1836
House
Died from injuries received in an explosion on the steamer Flora on the Ohio
River on 11/26/1836.
LANE, James H.
D
IN 03/04/1853-03/03/1855
House
Committed suicide near Ft. Leavenworth, KS on 07/11/1866.
R
KS
04/04/1861-07/11/1866
Senate
LANHAM, Henderson Lovelace
D
GA 01/03/1947-11/10/1957
House
Killed when his automobile collided with a train at a crossing in Rome, GA on
11/10/1957.
LELAND, George T. (Mickey)
D
TX 01/03/1979-08/07/1989
House
Died in a plane crash on 08/07/1989 in Ethiopia while on a fact-finding tour to
study hunger among refugees.
ȬŘȱ

ȱ
Member
Party State Dates of Servicea
Chamber Cause of Death and Date of Death
LITTON,
Jerry
D MO
03/03/1973-08/03/1976 House Died in a plane crash en route to Kansas City, MO on 08/03/1976, on the night
of his victory in the 1976 Democratic U.S. Senate primary.
LONG, Huey Pierce
D
LA 01/25/1932-09/10/1935
Senate
Assassinated in the State Capitol Building, Baton Rouge, LA on 09/08/1935; died
on 09/10/1935.
LUNDEEN, Ernest
Rd MN 03/04/1917-03/03/1919 House
Died in an airplane crash near Lovettsville, VA on 08/31/1940.
03/04/1933-01/03/1937

01/03/1937-08/31/1940
Senate
McCORMICK, Joseph Medill
R
IL
03/04/1917-03/03/1919
House
Committed suicide in Washington, DC on 02/25/1925e
03/04/1919-02/25/1925
Senate
McDONALD, Larry
D
GA 01/03/1975-09/01/1983
House
Died in crash of Korean Airlines flight shot down by a Russian fighter plane on
09/01/1983.
MILLER, Clement Woodnutt
D
CA 01/03/1959-10/07/1962
House
Died in an airplane crash near Eureka, CA on 10/07/1962.
MILLS, William
R
MD 05/27/1971-05/24/1973
House
Committed suicide near Easton, MD on 05/24/1973.
MONTGOMERY, John Gallagher
D
PA 03/04/1857-04/24/1857
House
Died on 04/24/1857, presumably from the effects of food poisoning contracted
while staying at the National Hotel in Washington, DC.
MURPHY, Richard Louis
D
IA
03/04/1933-07/16/1936
Senate
Died in an automobile accident near Chippewa Falls, WI on 07/16/1936.
PETTIS, Jerry L.
R
CA 01/03/1967-02/14/1975
House
Died in a plane crash in Banning, San Bernardino County, CA on 02/14/1975.
PETTIS, Spencer Darwin
D
MO 03/04/1829-08/28/1831
House
During the campaign of 1830, his opinions on the U.S. Bank issue precipitated a
quarrel and subsequently a duel with Major Thomas Biddle, and both fell
mortally wounded on 08/28/1831.
PINCKNEY, John McPherson
D
TX 11/17/1903-04/24/1905
House
Assaulted and killed at Hempstead, TX on 04/24/1905.
QUITMAN, John Anthony
D
MS 03/04/1855-07/17/1858
House
Died on 07/17/1858, presumably from the effects of food poisoning contracted
in 1857 while staying at the National Hotel in Washington, DC.
RYAN, Leo J.
D
CA 01/03/1973-11/18/1978
House
Died from gunshot wounds received while visiting an American religious
commune in Guyana, South America on 11/18/1978.
SCHALL, Thomas David
R
MN 03/04/1915-03/03/1925
House
Died after being struck by an automobile in Washington, DC on 12/22/1935.
03/04/1925-12/22/1935
Senate
SMITH, Larkin
R
MS 01/03/1989-08/13/1989
House
Died in a plane crash in the DeSoto National Forest, MS on 08/13/1989.
STERLING, John Allen
R
IL
03/04/1903-03/03/1913
House
Died as a result of an automobile accident near Pontiac, IL on 10/17/1918.
03/04/1915-10/17/1918
SULLIVAN, Timothy Daniel
D
NY 03/04/1903-07/27/1906
House
Killed by a locomotive near Pelham Parkway, NY on 08/31/1913.
03/04/1913-08/31/1913
Ȭřȱ

ȱ
Member
Party State Dates of Servicea
Chamber Cause of Death and Date of Death
THOMPSON, Theo Ashton
D
LA
01/03/1953-07/01/1965
House
Died in an automobile accident in Gastonia, NC on 07/01/1965.
WEDEMEYER, William Walter
R
MI
03/04/1911-01/02/1913
House
Accidentally drowned in the harbor of Colon, Panama on 01/02/1913.
WELLSTONE, Paul David
D
MN 01/3/1991-10/25/2002
Senate
Died along with his wife , their daughter, two campaign staffers, and a
Minnesota Democratic party official in a plane crash in Eveleth, MN on
10/25/02.
WICKLIFFE, Robert Charles
D
LA 03/04/1909-06/11/1912
House
Killed by a train while walking on a railroad track in Washington, DC on
06/11/1912.
ZIONCHECK, Marion
D
WA 03/04/1933-08/07/1936
House
Jumped from an office building in Seattle, WA on 08/07/1936.
Sources: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI; Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1998; various editions of
Weekly Reports, published by Congressional Quarterly, Inc.; and various newspaper articles.
a. Note that the date of the Member’s death is the same as the last date of his service.
b. Rep. Cilley was a Jacksonian Democrat.
c. Rep. Johnston was a States Rights Democrat.
d. Rep., later Sen. Lundeen, was a member of the Farmer Labor Party when elected to the House in 1933 and the Senate in 1937.
e. Sen. McCormick’s death was initially not ruled a suicide. See Kristie Miller, Ruth Hanna McCormick, A Life in Politics 1880-1944 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico
Press, 1992), p. 151.
ȬŚȱ

Ž–‹Ž›œȱ˜?ȱ?‘Žȱǯǯȱ˜—?›Žœœȱ‘˜ȱ ŠŸŽȱ’Ž?ȱ˜?ȱ?‘Ž›ȱ‘Š—ȱŠ?ž›Š•ȱŠžœŽœȱ
ȱ

ž?‘˜›ȱ˜—?ŠŒ?ȱ —?˜›–Š?’˜—ȱ

Mildred Amer

Specialist on the Congress
mamer@crs.loc.gov, 7-8304

˜—?›Žœœ’˜—Š•ȱŽœŽŠ›Œ‘ȱŽ›Ÿ’ŒŽȱ
śȱ