Howard Curtis Nielson (September 12, 1924 – May 20, 2020) was an American politician in the Republican Party. From 1983 to 1991, Nielson represented Utah's 3rd congressional district in 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 ...

Early life

Nielson was born in Richfield, Utah; his paternal grandparents were immigrants from

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. After graduating from Richfield High School in 1942, he served as a sergeant in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

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 ...

from 1943 to 1946. He continued his education, earning his B.S. from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

in 1947,

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1949, and M.B.A. and Ph.D 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 1956 and 1958, respectively. He later founded the Department of Statistics at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, Provo.

Political career

Nielson first served in political office as a member of the Utah House of Representatives from 1967 to 1974, serving as Speaker of the House in his last term. He was an associate commissioner on the Utah Commission for Higher Education for two years. He was a delegate to the Utah State Republican Conventions from 1960 to 1982. He was elected as a Republican to the

from

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and served four terms, from January 3, 1983, to January 3, 1991. While in Congress, Nielson sponsored two resolutions calling on Israel to reopen Palestinian schools and colleges. In 1985 he was one of just two "nay" voters on a resolution urging

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

to extradite gangster Chen Chi-li, who had murdered dissident journalist Henry Liu in San Francisco the previous year. He also cosponsored a bill to limit tobacco advertising. He also was a leading proponent of releasing the names of people who tested positive for

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

to Public Health Officials. Nielson was also one of the main negotiators of the 1990 Clean Air Act. Nielson was an early promoter of rating of song lyrics. In 1996, Nielson was elected to the

Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature (US), state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members, each representing one senate district. Each senate ...

.''Deseret Morning News'', October 8th, 2006 He retired from Congress so he could serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with his wife. They served as missionaries in both

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Personal life

Nielson and his wife Julia had seven children, three sons and four daughters. Nielson's first wife died in 2003. He later married Donna Esther Brown, herself a widow and the sister of one of his former House colleagues,

Ron Packard Ronald C. Packard (born January 19, 1931) is an American retired Republican politician from California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001. Biography Ronald C. Packard was born and raised in Meridian, Idaho. He ...

of California. Donna died in 2015 of bone marrow cancer. Howard Nielson died on May 20, 2020, at the age of 95. One of Nielson's children, Howard Jr., is a Judge on the United States District Court for the District of Utah beginning in 2019.Roll Call Vote 116th Congress - 1st Session United States Senate Vote Summary: Vote Number 123, United States Senate, May 22, 2019
/ref>

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nielson, Howard Curtis 1924 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries Latter Day Saints from Utah United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American Mormon missionaries in Australia American Mormon missionaries in Hungary American people of Danish descent Brigham Young University faculty Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives Military personnel from Utah People from Richfield, Utah Politicians from Provo, Utah Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Utah Speakers of the Utah House of Representatives Stanford University alumni United States Army Air Forces soldiers University of Oregon alumni University of Utah alumni Republican Party Utah state senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Utah Legislature

Early life

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

External links