Muriel Humphrey 250453 211901588 2008-05-12T16:46:41Z Hawk08210 6981619 /* References */ {{ Infobox Senator | name=Muriel Humphrey | nationality=American | image name=MurielHumphrey.jpg | jr/sr and state=[[US Congressional Delegations from Minnesota|U.S. Senator from Minnesota]] | party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | term= [[January 25]], [[1978]]–[[November 7]], [[1978]] | preceded=[[Hubert Humphrey]] | succeeded=[[David Durenberger]] | date of birth= {{birth date|1912|2|20|mf=y}} | place of birth= [[Huron, South Dakota]] | dead=dead | date of death= {{death date and age |1998|09|20|1912|02|20}} | place of death= [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]] | spouse= (1) [[Hubert Humphrey]] (1936–1978) (until his death) <br> (2) Max Brown (1979–1998) (until her own death) | religion= }} '''Muriel Fay Buck Humphrey Brown''' ([[February 20]], [[1912]]–[[September 20]], [[1998]]) was the wife of [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Hubert Humphrey]]. Following her husband's death, she was appointed to his seat in the [[United States Senate]]. She later remarried and took the name '''Muriel Humphrey Brown'''. == Early life and education == Humphrey was born '''Muriel Fay Buck''' in [[Huron, South Dakota]], daughter of Andrew E. Buck and his wife, the former Jessie Mae Pierce. She attended [[Huron College]] and met Humphrey in 1934, when she was working as a bookkeeper. They married on [[3 September]] [[1936]], saying, "It was love at first waltz".<ref>"Hopefuls' Helpmates", Time, 24 November 1958</ref> They had four children: [[Skip Humphrey|Hubert III]], Nancy, Robert, and Douglas. == Political life == Humphrey was appointed as a member of the [[Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party|Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party]] by the [[governor of Minnesota]] to the Senate vacancy caused by the death of her husband, and served from [[January 25]], [[1978]] to [[November 7]], [[1978]] in the [[95th United States Congress|95th Congress]]. She was the first spouse of a former Vice President to serve in Congress as well as the first woman to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate. She was not a candidate for the special election for the remaining term. "It was the most challenging thing I've done in my whole life," she said. Twenty-eight years later, [[Amy Klobuchar]], a fellow DFLer, would become the first woman to be elected to the United States Senate from Minnesota. Looking back at her political life, Humphrey reflected "There's something I've been wanting to say for a long time. I'm a liberal and I'm proud of it. In fact, I was probably a little more liberal than Hubert was. I just wanted to say that." While in office, and after, she pressed for the right for women to choose to have an abortion and worked towards legislation for the rights of the mentally disabled. <ref>New York Times obituary [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E5D81330F932A1575AC0A96E958260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/D/Deaths%20(Obituaries) here]</ref> == Second marriage == In 1979, Humphrey married Max Brown, a friend from childhood. "I don't live a life of politics any more," she said after her second marriage. "Max and I have so much fun. We have a wonderful companionship that Hubert and I didn't have, couldn't have. We were so busy and it was so official almost all the time."<ref>Olson, Rochelle, "Muriel Humphrey Brown, senator, widow of HHH, dead at 86", Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 21 September 1998</ref> == Death == When Humphrey died, she was survived by her husband of 19 years and her children, who were at her side when she died at the age of 86. She is interred in [[Lakewood Cemetery]] <ref>Find a Grave [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5493 here]</ref> in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], next to her first husband, Hubert H. Humphrey. ==External links== * [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000956a Congressional bioguide] ==References== {{reflist}} <br clear="both"> {{start box}} {{s-hon}} {{succession box| before=[[Lady Bird Johnson]]| title=[[List of Spouses of the Vice Presidents of the United States|Wife of the Vice President of the United States]]| years=1965–1969| after=[[Judy Agnew]]}} {{s-par|us-sen}} {{U.S. Senator box| state= Minnesota | class= 1| before=[[Hubert Humphrey]]| after= [[David Durenberger]] | years=[[January 25]], [[1978]]–[[November 7]], [[1978]]| alongside=[[Wendell Anderson]]| }} {{end box}} {{US Second Ladies}} {{USSenMN}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrey, Muriel}} [[Category:Second Ladies of the United States]] [[Category:1912 births]] [[Category:1998 deaths]] [[Category:United States Senators from Minnesota]] [[Category:Spouses of United States Senators]] [[Category:Spouses of United States mayors]] [[Category:Hubert Humphrey]] [[Category:Female United States Senators]] [[pl:Muriel Humphrey]] [[sv:Muriel Humphrey]]