Chronology of Muskie’s life and work

1914 March 28
Born in Rumford, Maine
1936
Graduated cum laude from Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, with degree in history and government.
1939
Graduated from Cornell Law School and admitted to Massachusetts bar.
1940
Admitted to Maine bar and established law practice in Waterville, Maine.
1942
Enlisted in U.S. Navy.
1945
Discharged from U.S. Navy and returned to Waterville to resume law practice.
1946
Elected to Maine House of Representatives; reelected in 1948 and 1950 and served as minority (Democratic) leader during second and third terms.
1947
Ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Waterville.
1948 May 29
Married Jane Frances Gray in Waterville; children: Stephen (born 1949), Ellen (1950), Melinda (1956), Martha (1958), and Edmund Jr. (1961).
1951-1952
Served as director of Maine District of Office of Price Stabilization.
1952-1956
Served on Democratic National Committee.
1954
Elected governor of Maine; reelected in 1956.
1955
Received honorary doctor of laws degree from Bates College.
1957-1966
Elected member of Bates College Board of Trustees; served again from 1970 to 1988.
1958
Elected to United States Senate; reelected in 1964, 1970, and 1976.  Appointed to Committees on Banking and Currency (until 1970), Government Operations (until 1978), and Public Works.
1959
Visited Soviet Union as member of Public Works Committee.
1961
Appointed to Legislative Review Committee of Democratic Policy Committee and to Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (until 1977).
1961-1978
Served on Special Committee on Aging.
1962
Appointed first chair of Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, Committee on Public Works.
1963
Served as chief sponsor and floor manager of Clean Air Act, first major federal law aimed at air pollution control, amended in 1967 and 1970.
1964
Initiated establishment of Roosevelt Campobello International Park at site of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s island summer estate on border between Maine and New Brunswick, and presided as chair of joint U.S.-Canadian commission when United States had chair until his death in 1996.
1965
Served as chief sponsor and floor manager of Water Quality Act, amended in 1970; participated in second Mansfield mission, which warned President Lyndon B. Johnson against open-ended U.S. commitment in Vietnam.
1966
Elected assistant Democratic whip; served as floor manager of Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development (Model Cities) Act and Clean Water Restoration Act.
1967
Participated in U.S. mission to observe elections in Republic of (South) Vietnam.
1967-1969
Served as chair of Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
1968 February 28
Wrote President Johnson privately, urging halt to bombing of North Vietnam.
1968
Ran unsuccessfully as Democratic candidate for vice presidency of United States.
1969
Introduced Intergovernmental Revenue Act; voted against nomination of Clement Haynsworth to U.S. Supreme Court.
1969 October 15
Called for announced schedule for withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Indochina, at Bates College.
1970
Helped pass Water Quality Improvement Act; cosponsored McGovern-Hatfield resolution to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam; voted against nomination of G. Harold Carswell to U.S. Supreme Court; proposed six-month ban by United States and Soviet Union on further deployment of land- and sea-based ballistic missiles, strategic bombers, and antiballistic missile radar construction and upgrading.
1970 April 22
Addressed Earth Day gatherings in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
1970 November 3
Delivered national television and radio speech in response to President Richard M. Nixon’s election eve statements.
1971
Became member of Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (until 1974) and traveled to Western Europe, Soviet Union, and Middle East.
1972 January 4
Formally announced candidacy for Democratic nomination for presidency of United States; withdrew April 26, 1972.
1974
Founded and elected chair of Senate Committee on Budget; served until 1980.
1979-1980
Served on Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
1980, May 7
Resigned from U.S. Senate to become U.S. secretary of state, serving until January 20, 1981.
1981 January 16
Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom.
1981-1996
Practiced law in Washington, D.C., with Chadbourne, Parke, Whiteside & Wolfe (later Chadbourne & Parke)
1982-1991
Served as chair of Nestle Infant Formula Audit Commission to investigate complaints against Nestle Corporation about violations of International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
1984 June 9
Received Benjamin E. Mays Medal for distinguished accomplishment by alumnus of Bates College.
1986-1987
Served on President’s Special Review Board (Tower Commission) to investigate secret U.S. arms sales to Iran and diversion of proceeds from those sales to rebels fighting Nicaraguan government.
1989-1990
Chaired Maine Commission on Legal Needs, sponsored by Maine Bar Foundation to conduct investigation and make recommendations regarding problem of providing poor with equal access to legal assistance.
1996 March 26
Died, Washington, D.C.; interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
2004 December 25
Jane Gray Muskie died, Washington, D.C.; interred at Arlington National Cemetery.