Clarence William (Bill) NELSON, Congress, FL (1942)

NELSON Clarence William (Bill) , a Senator and a Representative from Florida; born in Miami, Dade County, Fla., September 29, 1942; attended the Brevard County public schools; graduated from Melbourne High School 1960; B.A., Yale University 1965; J.D., University of Virginia School of Law 1968; admitted to the Florida bar in 1968 and commenced practice in Melbourne in 1970; served in United States Army Reserve 1965-1971; United States Army, active duty, 1968-1970, achieving rank of captain; legislative assistant to Governor Reubin Askew 1971; elected to Florida State house of representatives in 1972 and reelected in 1974 and 1976; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-sixth and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1979-January 3, 1991); was not a candidate for reelection in 1990 to the House of Representatives, but was a candidate for nomination for governor of Florida; crewmember on the twenty-fourth flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia, January 12-18, 1986; Florida treasurer and insurance commissioner 1995-2000; elected to the United States Senate in 2000; reelected in 2006 and again in 2012, and served from January 3, 2001, to January 3, 2019; was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Senate in 2018; chair, Special Committee on Aging (One Hundred Thirteenth Congress).

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present