Stennis, John Cornelius

▪ 1996

      U.S. politician (b. Aug. 3, 1901, De Kalb, Miss.—d. April 23, 1995, Jackson, Miss.), as a formidable Mississippi Democrat and the second longest-serving U.S. senator (1947-89), behind Carl Hayden of Arizona, exerted vast influence over the U.S. military while serving as chairman of both the Armed Services Committee and the defense subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee during the 1970s; he was especially admired for his sterling integrity, a trait that led colleagues to select him to head numerous political inquiries. One year after earning (1927) a law degree from the University of Virginia, Stennis was elected to the Mississippi legislature. He served as a district attorney and circuit judge before winning the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Theodore Bilbo. Stennis' Senate record also was marked by his opposition to integration, although late in his career he supported some civil rights measures. The indomitable Stennis, who was nicknamed the "conscience of the Senate" for his work on the Senate's ethics code, exhibited personal fortitude in 1973 when he made a remarkably swift recovery after being shot by robbers and left bleeding on the sidewalk in front of his home. In 1984, after losing a leg to cancer, Stennis returned to his desk sooner than expected. He remained a staunch advocate of a strong military throughout his career and during the final years of his tenure became a mentor to junior senators.

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