Paul Tsongas

Paul Efthemios Tsongas (February 14, 1941 – January 18, 1997) was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the United States Democratic Party.

Related Topics:
February 14 - 1941 - January 18 - 1997 - United States Senator - Massachusetts - United States Democratic Party

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Tsongas was born to a working-class Greek father and Yankee Massachusetts mother. He attended Dartmouth and Yale Law School before settling in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Related Topics:
Greek - Dartmouth - Yale Law School - Lowell, Massachusetts

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He first entered politics as a city councillor and then served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. In 1978 he was elected to the Senate. In 1984, however, he was diagnosed with cancer and left the Senate. After fighting the illness he returned to politics and in 1992 ran for his party's nomination for President. He ran a strong campaign and succeeded in winning the New Hampshire primary, but was eventually eclipsed by a resurgent Bill Clinton (the "Comeback Kid"), who would go on to win the Presidency. Tsongas was viewed as a centrist who embraced a number of Republican policies. He was especially known for his strongly pro-business economic policies that have come to be embraced by the modern Republican Party.

Related Topics:
City council - United States House of Representatives - 1978 - Senate - 1984 - Cancer - 1992 - President - New Hampshire primary - Bill Clinton - Centrist - Republican

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A few years later the cancer returned and he died of pneumonia and liver failure two days short of what, had he won the presidency, would have been the end of his first term.

Related Topics:
Pneumonia - Liver failure

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On January 27, 1998, the Tsongas Arena in Lowell was dedicated in his honor.

Related Topics:
January 27 - 1998 - Tsongas Arena - Lowell

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