William S. Broomfield, (April 28, 1922 – February 20, 2019) was an American politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

Early life

Broomfield, the son of Scevillian C. and Fern Broomfield was born in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along t ...

. His father was a dentist. He graduated from Royal Oak High School in 1940 and attended Michigan State College (now

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

) at

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he served in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

. After the war, he engaged in the real-estate and property-management business.

Political career

Broomfield was a member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 U ...

, 1949–1954, serving as speaker pro tempore in 1953. He served in the

Michigan State Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, adopt ...

in 1955 and 1956. In 1956, Broomfield was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

from Michigan's 18th District to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for the 85th and to the seventeen succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1957, to January 3, 1993. Due to redistricting following U.S. Censuses, Broomfield served the 19th District, 1973–1983 and the 18th District, 1983–1993. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1992 to the

103rd Congress The 103rd 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, 19 ...

. The 18th District was discontinued following the 1990 census and for the most part redistricted as the 11th which elected

Joe Knollenberg Joseph Kastl Knollenberg (November 28, 1933 – February 6, 2018) was an American politician from Michigan. From 1993 to 2009, he was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing and . In his congressional term, Knol ...

in 1993. During his tenure in Congress, Broomfield served as a member of the

U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs 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 o ...

and was ranking member from 1975 until his retirement in 1993. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest serving Republican then serving in the House of Representatives. During his years of service in the House, Broomfield garnered praise from both sides of the aisle for his ethics, honesty and statesmanship. When he retired, he left behind a legacy of bipartisan friendship and cooperation. Broomfield voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights m ...

Retirement

After retirement, Broomfield started a foundation in Michigan that supports various charities in southeast Michigan, including the efforts to cure

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, men ...

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

, and the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

. A longtime resident of

Lake Orion, Michigan Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of wh ...

, he last lived in

Kensington, Maryland Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,213 at the 2010 United States Census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 ZIP code, with a population of 19,054. History The area around th ...

. In September 2000,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

designated the Royal Oak Post Office at 200 West 2nd Street in

, as the ''William S. Broomfield Post Office Building''. On December 30, 2006, Broomfield collapsed at the state funeral memorial for former U.S. President Gerald Ford at the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

, bringing the ceremonies to a temporary pause. The reason given for the collapse was exhaustion. Broomfield's wife Jane died on March 21, 2013, at the age of 97, due to heart failure. Broomfield died on February 20, 2019, at the age of 96 in Kensington, Maryland, where he resided in his later years.

References

External links

H.R. 4884 renaming post office for Broomfield
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Broomfield, William 1922 births 2019 deaths Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Michigan State University alumni Republican Party Michigan state senators Military personnel from Michigan People from Royal Oak, Michigan Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American politicians