Nicholas Joseph Begich

Democrat Representative of Alaska

Congresses Served

House Terms

April 6, 1932 (39 years old)

Birthday

January 1, 1972

Death

Served in the Alaska State Senate for eight years before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970.
Worked as a guidance counselor and later as Superintendent of Schools in Anchorage, Alaska.
Ran for the U.S. House seat in 1968 but lost to the incumbent.
Won the 1970 election against a Republican opponent and was re-elected in 1972.
Disappeared in a plane crash on October 16, 1972, while campaigning; his body was never found.
Posthumously won the 1972 election, but a special election was held after he was declared dead, resulting in a Republican victory.
His legacy includes buildings and geographical features named in his honor in Alaska.
Two of his sons followed him into politics, with one serving as a U.S. senator and the other in the Alaska State Senate.