Barry Goldwater

Barry Morris Goldwater (January 1, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was a United States politician and a founding figure in the modern conservative movement in the USA. Goldwater personified the shift in balance in American culture from the Northeast to the West. A five-term United States Senator from Arizona (1953-1965, 1969-87), he was the Republican Party candidate for the U.S. President in the 1964 election which he lost to Lyndon B. Johnson.

Personal background

Goldwater was born in Phoenix, when the state of Arizona was still part of the Arizona Territory. His father was originally Jewish, but converted to Episcopalianism to marry his fiancée. The family's department store made the Goldwaters comfortably rich. Goldwater attended the University of Arizona. He joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity but never graduated. Due to his father's ill health, Goldwater was forced to tend to the family business. With the onset of WWII, Goldwater was commissioned in the US Army Air Corps as a pilot. During the war, he served in India, China, Burma and Europe. He also participated in the first flight of Republic P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft across the North Atlantic in 1947. He remained on reserve after the war, retiring at the reserve rank of Major General. He had flown 165 different types of aircraft by that time. In 1969, he also had the opportunity to complete a Mach 3+ check ride in the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

Related Topics:
Phoenix - Arizona Territory - Jewish - Episcopalianism - US Army Air Corps - Major General

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Goldwater used to tell a joke about his brother Bob being told at a golf course, "You can't play here, this is a restricted course," to which he responded "I'm only half Jewish...is it all right if I only play nine holes?" In his autobiography he remarks, "The story got a big laugh, but the incident never occurred."

Related Topics:
Golf - Autobiography

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Goldwater's son, Barry Goldwater, Jr., served as a U.S. House member from California from 1969 to 1983.

Related Topics:
Barry Goldwater, Jr. - U.S. House - California - 1969 - 1983

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Goldwater was also an avid amateur radio operator.

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