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Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938 – April 4, 1991) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Pennsylvania from 1977 until his death in 1991. An heir to the Heinz family fortune, Heinz entered politics in 1971 when he won a special election to replace Robert Corbett to represent Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district. In 1976, Heinz ran to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott. Heinz narrowly won in the Republican primary over future Senator Arlen Specter and defeated William Green III in the general election. Heinz won re-election in 1982 and 1988 by large margins. On April 4, 1991, Heinz was killed when his plane, facing mechanical problems, collided with a helicopter inspecting the plane, killing all involved in the crash.
In 1956, Heinz graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy. He then attended and graduated from Yale University, where Theodore Stebbins was his roommate, in 1960, majoring in history, arts and letters. Heinz subsequently graduated from Harvard Business School in 1963. As a Harvard Business School student, he met his future wife, Teresa Heinz, who attended the University of Geneva, over summer break.
In the Senate, Heinz was a moderate-to-liberal Republican. He was a member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance, the National Commission on Social Security Reform, the National Commission on Health Care Reform, the Northeast Coalition, and the Steel Caucus. He also served as chairman of the Subcommittee on International Finance and Monetary Policies, the Special Committee on Aging, and the Republican Conference Task Force on Job Training and Education.
Heinz voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well as to override Ronald Reagan's veto). Heinz voted in favor of the Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination.
He was elected chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for two terms, 1979–1981 and 1985–1987.
The New York Times noted that Heinz built a solid record in the Senate as "a persistent defender of the nation's growing elderly population and of the declining steel industry", that he was "instrumental in pushing through legislation that put the Social Security system on sounder financial footing", and "played a major role in strengthening laws regulating retirement policies, pension plans, health insurance and nursing homes", and "pushed successfully for trade laws that encourage American exports and protect American products, like steel, from foreign imports".
In 1991, Heinz began evaluating a Pennsylvania gubernatorial bid, with advisors thinking it was a move towards a future bid for the White House.
Following a funeral at Heinz Chapel in Pittsburgh and a Washington, D.C. memorial service that was attended by President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle, Senator Heinz's remains were interred in the Heinz family mausoleum in Homewood Cemetery, located in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Heinz's long time friend, Tim Wirth of Colorado, Thousands Attend Heinz Funeral Family, Friends And Foes Bid Farewell To Pa. Senator Philly.com April 11, 1991. remarked: "He really believed he could make the world a better place, such a contrast to the jaded resignation of our time. He could send the Senate leadership up a wall faster than anyone I've seen." Heinz's son André said at the services: "Dad, I am so grateful for the time we had, and I miss you and I love you." Heinz recalled as good man, leader Beaver County Times. April 11, 1991.
In 1995, Teresa Heinz, Heinz's widow, married Heinz's Senate colleague, future Democratic presidential nominee and Secretary of State John Kerry.
Heinz was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1991.
In 1993, his family established the , which honors individual innovation in five categories. One of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service annual awards, for "Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official", is named in his honor.
Several institutions bear his name, including:
Death
On April 4, 1991, Heinz and six other people, including two children, were killed when a Sun Co. Aviation Department Bell 412 helicopter and a Piper Aerostar, with Heinz aboard, collided in mid-air above Merion Elementary School in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. All aboard both aircraft, as well as two children at the school, were killed. The helicopter was attempting to investigate a problem with the landing gear of Heinz's plane, and while moving in for a closer look, collided with the plane, causing both aircraft to lose control and crash. The subsequent NTSB investigation attributed the cause of the crash to poor judgment by the pilots of the two aircraft involved.
Legacy
The Tinicum Wildlife Preserve was renamed to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum in Heinz's honor following his death. The 1,200 acre (4.9 km2) refuge includes the largest remaining freshwater tidal marsh in Pennsylvania, as well as other habitats that are home to a variety of plants and animals native to Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Electoral history
See also
Further reading
External links
Categories: 1938 Births, 1991 Deaths, Accidental Deaths In Pennsylvania, Burials At Homewood Cemetery, Carnegie Mellon University Faculty, Harvard Business School Alumni, Heinz Family, Phillips Exeter Academy Alumni, Politicians From Pittsburgh, Republican Party United States Senators From Pennsylvania, United States Air Force Airmen, Victims Of Aviation Accidents Or Incidents In 1991, Victims Of Aviation Accidents Or Incidents In The United States, Victims Of Mid-air Collisions, Yale University Alumni, Members Of The American Philosophical Society, 20th-century United States Senators
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