A look at the life of former Sen. Ted Stevens

A look at the life of former Sen. Ted Stevens

Nov. 18, 1923 — Born Theodore Fulton Stevens in Indianapolis.

1938 — Moves to southern California to live with relatives after his parents’ divorce.

1942 — Graduates from Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach, Calif.

1943 — Enrolls at Montana State College for Army Air Corps cadet training; joins Army Air Corps in Santa Ana, Calif.

1944-46 — Serves as transport pilot flying C-46s and C-47s in China-Burma-India theater during World War II; awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

1947 — Graduates UCLA with a B.A. in political science.

1950 — Graduates Harvard Law School.

1950-52 — Practices law in Washington, D.C., with the firm Northcutt Ely.

1952 — Marries Ann Mary Cherrington in Denver, Colo. They have five children.

1953 — Drives to the Territory of Alaska to take a job in Fairbanks.

1954 — Named U.S. attorney in Fairbanks.

1956 — Returns to Washington to work on the statehood issue for Interior Secretary Fred Seaton.

1960 — Appointed chief counsel to Seaton.

1961 — Opens law practice in Anchorage, Stevens & Roderick.

1962 — Loses Senate race to incumbent Ernest Gruening.

1964 — Wins a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives.

1966 — Re-elected to Alaska House, serving as speaker pro tempore and majority leader.

1968 — Loses Senate primary to Anchorage banker Elmer Rasmuson.

Dec. 24, 1968 — Appointed to replace the late Sen. E.L. Bartlett, a Democrat, by Gov. Walter J. Hickel.

Nov. 3, 1970 — Wins special election with 60 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Wendell P. Kay.

1971 — Co-sponsors an amendment to a Selective Service bill setting forth terms for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Vietnam.

1972 — Wins his first full term in 1972; re-elected by wide margins in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996 and 2002. Named to Appropriations Committee; sponsors Title IX legislation banning sex-based discrimination in federally funded educational institutions.

1977-1985 — Serves as Republican whip.

Dec. 4, 1978 — Aboard a private jet that crashes at Anchorage International Airport; his wife, Ann, dies.

1980 — Marries Catherine Chandler, a lawyer from a prominent Democratic family. They have a daughter.

1981 — Becomes assistant majority leader when Republicans take control of the Senate.

1984 — Runs for Senate majority leader, but loses by three votes to Bob Dole of Kansas.

1997 — Chairs Senate Appropriations Committee from 1997-2001 and 2003-2005; directs more than $3 billion in federal money to Alaska from 1995-2008.

2000 — Named Alaskan of the Century; Anchorage airport is renamed Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

2003-2007 — Serves as president pro tempore of the Senate.

July 2007 — FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents raid Stevens’ house south of Anchorage as part of the probe into his relationship with oil contractor VECO. Former company chief Bill Allen, who pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators, testified that he oversaw extensive renovations at Stevens’ home and sent VECO employees to work on it.

July 29, 2008 — Indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of failing to properly report gifts.

Oct. 27, 2008 — Convicted on seven felony counts of concealing more than a quarter of a million dollars in house renovations and gifts from VECO.

Nov. 18, 2008 — Narrowly loses his Senate seat to Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.

April 7, 2009 — Federal judge overturns Stevens’ conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct.

Aug. 9, 2010 — Dies in plane crash in remote southwest Alaska.

Sources: Associated Press Political Databank, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress; 2008 Almanac of American Politics; Who’s Who in Alaskan Politics, Anchorage Daily News files.

Compiled by News Researcher Julie Reed Bell.