William Thad COCHRAN, Congress, MS (1937)

COCHRAN William Thad , A Senator and a Representative from Mississippi; born in Pontotoc, Pontotoc County, Miss., December 7, 1937; educated in the public schools of Mississippi; graduated, University of Mississippi, Oxford 1959 and the University of Mississippi Law School 1965; studied international law and jurisprudence at Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland 1963-1964; served in the United States Navy 1959-1961; admitted to the Mississippi bar in 1965 and commenced practice in Jackson; elected as a Republican to the Ninety-third Congress in 1972; reelected to the Ninety-fourth and Ninety-fifth Congresses and served from January 3, 1973, until his resignation on December 26, 1978; was not a candidate for reelection to the House of Representatives, but was elected in 1978 to the United States Senate for the term commencing January 3, 1979; subsequently appointed by the Governor, December 27, 1978, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James O. Eastland for the term ending January 3, 1979; reelected in 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008, and again in 2014 and served from December 27, 1978, until his resignation on April 1, 2018; chair, Senate Republican Conference (1991-1997), Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (One Hundred Eighth Congress); Committee on Appropriations (One Hundred Ninth, One Hundred Fourteenth and One Hundred Fifteenth [January 3, 2017-April 1, 2018] Congresses); was a resident of Oxford, Miss., until his death on May 30, 2019.

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