Robert Norton Shamansky (April 18, 1927 – August 11, 2011) was an American Democratic politician and attorney from the state of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He served in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for a single term from 1981 until 1983. In 2018, the ''

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...

'' wrote that "Shamansky's life was marked by hardship, Jewish pride and

tilting at windmills , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

Early life

Shamansky was born in 1927 in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

, the son of Sarah (Greenberg) and Harry Solomon Shamansky. He attended

Bexley High School Bexley High School (BHS) is a public high school located in Bexley, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. Athletics Bexley’s athletic program includes teams in the following sports: lacrosse, football, basketball, baseball, cheerleadin ...

. He was a 1947 graduate of

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

and a 1950 graduate of

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He was subsequently admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1950. He was also a

Special Agent In the United States, a special agent is an official title used to refer to certain investigators or detectives of federal, military, tribal, or state agencies who primarily serve in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, some special ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Counter Intelligence Corps The Counter Intelligence Corps (Army CIC) was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army consisting of highly trained special agents. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and ...

from 1950 until 1952. He joined the Army as a private and was initially stationed in Georgia, followed by duty at

Fort George G. Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, th ...

, Maryland.

Political career

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, Shamansky ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, he lost to Republican incumbent Samuel L. Devine.

Congress

Fourteen years later, in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, Shamansky challenged Devine again. This time, he was successful in unseating the long-time incumbent Devine, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district since 1939. He was also the first Democrat to represent a significant portion of the state capital, Columbus, since 1967. As a member of the

97th Congress The 97th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 198 ...

, Shamansky served on the

House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...

, and as a member of the

Science and Technology Committee The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The original Science and Technology Committee was abolished upon the creation of the Innovation, Univ ...

Defeat

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, after

reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionment ...

, Shamansky's district absorbed a large chunk of the more Republican-leaning 17th District. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by future

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Shamansky ran for his old congressional seat. However, the 12th had been significantly redrawn since he'd last served in Congress, and he lost to Kasich's successor,

Pat Tiberi Patrick Joseph Tiberi (; born October 21, 1962) is an American lobbyist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2018. His district included communities north and east of Columbus. He is a member of the Republican ...

, by 14 points.

Death

On August 11, 2011, Shamansky died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Columbus at the age of 84. He had been treated for depression at a psychiatric hospital shortly before his death.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shamansky, Bob 1927 births 2011 deaths 2011 suicides 20th-century American lawyers American politicians who died by suicide Bexley High School alumni Candidates in the 2006 United States elections Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Harvard Law School alumni Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives John Kasich Lawyers from Columbus, Ohio Ohio lawyers Ohio State University alumni People from Bexley, Ohio Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Suicides by firearm in Ohio United States Army soldiers 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives