William Donlon Edwards (January 6, 1915 – October 1, 2015) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from California for 32 years in the late 20th century.

Early life

Edwards was born in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

to Republican parents. His father and grandfather owned a land title business. After graduating from San Jose High School, Edwards earned a B.A. from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1936, where he was member of the Stanford golf team. Edwards then attended

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1940. Edwards was a special agent for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

from 1940 to 1941, when he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a naval intelligence and gunnery officer 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 ...

. In 1950, he was elected president of the California Young Republicans, resigning after joining the

United World Federalists Citizens for Global Solutions is a grassroots-level membership organization in the United States working towards the establishment of a world government in order to avoid future atomic wars. It has promoted a world federal government, United ...

. Perceiving the Republican Party as becoming too conservative, he became a Democrat prior to his first congressional election victory in 1962. He was the president of Valley Title Company of

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...

from 1951 to 1975, and a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1964 and 1968.

United States representative (1963–95)

Edwards was elected as a member of the Democratic Party to the 88th from the 9th Congressional District (later redistricted to the 10th and then the 16th Congressional District) and to the fifteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1995). In his first year in the House, Edwards voted to abolish the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

. Edwards was involved in the passage of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

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 move ...

. Edwards was a member of the

House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...

during the investigation of the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

. Edwards opposed the U.S. military involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, the invasion of Panama, and the

Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

.Obituary
latimes.com; accessed October 3, 2015. Edwards was one of eight members of the Judiciary Committee to vote for all five articles of impeachment drafted against President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

during the Watergate scandal. The others were Jack Brooks, Robert Kastenmeier,

John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. Conyers was the sixth-longest serving member of Congress and the lo ...

, Barbara Jordan,

Charles Rangel Charles Bernard Rangel ( ; June 11, 1930 – May 26, 2025) was an American politician who served as United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for districts in New York City for 46 years. A member of the Democratic Party (Unite ...

, Elizabeth Holtzman and Edward Mezvinsky. Three of the five articles were adopted prior to Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974. Edwards was one of the House impeachment managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1988 to conduct the

impeachment trial An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment. Differences exist between governments as to what stage trials take place ...

Alcee Hastings Alcee Lamar Hastings ( ; September 5, 1936 – April 6, 2021) was an American politician, and former judge from the state of Florida. Hastings was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida by President J ...

, judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (in case citations, S.D. Fla. or S.D. Fl.) is the federal United States district court with territorial jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida. Appeals ...

. However, he was replaced as an impeachment manager before the trial started. However, in 1989, he was appointed and served as a House impeachment manager in the impeachment trial of

Walter Nixon Walter Louis Nixon Jr. (born December 16, 1928) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi who in 1989 was impeached by the House of Representatives and removed from of ...

, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Edwards was the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights for 23 years. Edwards was not a candidate for reelection to the 104th Congress. Santa Clara County Supervisor

Zoe Lofgren Susan Ellen "Zoe" Lofgren ( ; born December 21, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Part ...

, one of his former aides, won a crowded Democratic primary for the seat and still holds it today.

Personal life and death

Don Edwards was married three times; he was married to Edith Wilkie Edwards from 1981 until her death in 2011. He turned 100 in January 2015. He died later that year on October 1, 2015. He was remembered by media outlets as, "a champion of civil and constitutional rights during his three decades on Capitol Hill" and someone who " stood up for women, for workers, for the environment."

Legacy

Edwards received the Congressional Distinguished Service Award in 2003. The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in the south end of

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

is named in his honor.

References

External links