Silvio O. Conte

Silvio Ottavio Conte (November 9, 1921 ? February 8, 1991) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1959 until his death. Born to Italian immigrants in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, he represented Massachusetts's first congressional district for seventeen consecutive terms.

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November 9 - 1921 - February 8 - 1991 - Republican - United States House of Representatives - January 3 - 1959 - Italian - Pittsfield, Massachusetts - Massachusetts

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Conte attended Pittsfield Vocational High School, graduating in 1940. He served in the Navy from 1942-44, during World War II, then attended Boston College under the G. I. Bill, and went on to receive a law degree from Boston College Law School in 1949.

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Pittsfield Vocational High School - Navy - World War II - Boston College - G. I. Bill - Boston College Law School

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Conte returned to Pittsfield and immediately turned his attention to politics. Conte was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1950 and served from 1951 to 1958. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1958, defeating James M. Burns, a professor at Williams College. Conte was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee, a seat which he would keep for his entire congressional career.

Related Topics:
Massachusetts Senate - Williams College - House Appropriations Committee

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Conte was known for taking care of his district, which covered most of Western Massachusetts. He helped to win defense contracts for the General Electric plant in Pittsfield. An avid fisherman and environmentalist, he introduced legislation to bring back Atlantic salmon to the Connecticut River http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d098:HR03044:|TOM:/bss/d098query.html|. The Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Turners Falls, Massachusetts is named in his honor. He also secured funding for a polymer research center at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The Silvio O. Conte National Center for Polymer Research at UMass Amherst was named in Conte's honor, as was Building 49 of the National Institutes of Health is named in his honor.

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Western Massachusetts - General Electric - Atlantic salmon - Connecticut River - Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge - Turners Falls, Massachusetts - Polymer - University of Massachusetts at Amherst - National Institutes of Health

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Conte never lost an election. He is somewhat infamous for wearing a pig mask in a 1983 press conference, as a protest against pork barrel spending. Although a member of the Republican Party, Conte was known as a liberal. Conte voted against U.S. involvement in the 1991 Gulf War.

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Pork barrel - Liberal - 1991 - Gulf War

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Congressman Conte died at age 69 in Bethesda, Maryland on February 8, 1991, and is buried in St. Joseph?s Cemetery in his home town of Pittsfield. He was survived by his wife Corrine, and their four children. John Olver, a Democrat, succeeded him in Congress.

Related Topics:
Bethesda, Maryland - February 8 - 1991 - John Olver - Democrat

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