Charles H. Smelser (July 4, 1920 – January 29, 2009) was a Democratic State Senator and Delegate in Maryland.

Background

Smelser was first elected to the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

in 1955. He served in the House until 1963. In 1967, he was elected to the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

, where he served until 1995, a Senate career of 28 years.

Education

Smelser attended Carroll County public schools. He graduated from New Windsor High School in 1937. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

in 1942. At Maryland he was a member of

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters an ...

fraternity.

Career

After graduating from college, Smelser served in the United States Army Air Force during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a pilot who flew 35 bombing missions from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

's. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with 5 Oak clusters. In addition to his political work and his military career, he was also a dairy farmer and in 1958 served as Director and later President of the New Windsor State Bank. He retired from this position in 1997.Answering Their Country's Call: Marylanders in World War II
/ref> In the Maryland Senate, Smelser was a member of several committees including but not limited to the Budget and Taxation Committee, the Executive Nominations Committee, the Rules Committee, the Legislative Policy Committee, the Joint Committee on Administrative, and Executive and Legislative Review. Additionally, he was the Senate Chair of the Joint Subcommittee on State's Capital Program. Smelser retired from politics in 1995.

Election results

*1990 Primary Race for Maryland State Senate – District 4 Retrieved on November 3, 2007 : *1986 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 4 Retrieved on November 3, 2007 :

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smelser, Charles H. 1920 births 2009 deaths People from Carroll County, Maryland University of Maryland, College Park alumni Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Democratic Party Maryland state senators United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly